


Umino Iruka and the Hidden Snake

by Leicontis



Series: Umino Iruka and the Will of Fire [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Naruto
Genre: Adventure, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-17
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-06-11 18:23:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 40,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15321519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leicontis/pseuds/Leicontis
Summary: Book 2: That first year had to be a fluke, right?  There's no way a civilian boarding school could turn out to be more dangerous than a ninja academy...  On the plus side, though, Luna's starting this year!





	1. Dobby

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Being neither British nor Japanese, it should therefore come as no surprise that I own neither Harry Potter nor Naruto, nor anything from their respective franchises.

Several visits later, Harry commented that he hadn't been getting any letters, despite several people's promises to stay in contact over the summer. Iruka checked with Neville and Hermione at their homes, and confirmed that they'd written to Harry but received no response. The teacher assured his students that Harry was fine and wanted to stay in contact, but somehow his mail wasn't getting through, and offered to 'play owl' until the problem was sorted out. He also made sure to send off a missive to Horace Slughorn to notify the man about Harry's difficulties and assure him that any lack of response was unintentional; best not to risk offending someone with such a wealth of powerful contacts, after all.

The summer continued to heat up but Iruka and his four students kept up their exercises, and the chuunin made sure to supervise their training individually during visits when he could. A clue about Harry's missing mail came in mid-July, when Harry reported feeling like he was being watched, and even spotting a pair of eyes watching him from inside a nearby shrub at one point. Unfortunately, he'd been unable to get a clear look at his mystery stalker.

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**V**

As July came to a close, all of them gathered at the Longbottom family home for a combined birthday party for Harry and Neville. Iruka himself had Apparated his two students without access to other magical transport, and both Harry and Hermione had spent some time commiserating over how profoundly unpleasant the experience was. The Dursleys had been quite pleased to see Harry go, which the young wizard explained was due to the fact that Vernon had invited a potential client over with his wife for a dinner at which he hoped to make the biggest deal of his career. Given how shameful they considered Harry's very existence, his relatives were glad he'd be elsewhere and even asked that he stay out until at least the following day. Thankfully, Neville and his grandmother had smoothly invited Harry to stay overnight.

In addition to the three current members of S.E.N. and their teacher, the party guests comprised a number of their classmates including all of their Gryffindor yearmates, as well as a couple of Hufflepuff girls that had known Neville for years and the Ravenclaw twin sister of one of Hermione's roommates. Given the fact that he expected the four to begin training together once school resumed, Iruka had also swung an invite for Luna Lovegood so that she could begin getting to know her fellow students and maybe make a few other friendships as well.

All the children had enjoyed themselves greatly, and Augusta (as she had asked Iruka call her outside formal circumstances) confessed to Iruka that it was a tremendous relief to her to see her grandson so much happier and more confident than he'd been a year prior. Iruka gifted the two birthday boys with high-quality calligraphy kits to use with their sealing work. He also told Hermione with a wink that she'd get her birthday gift from him no later than the first Seals class of the upcoming school year; Luna already had a kit she'd been using when Iruka began teaching the Lovegoods about sealing.

It was around dinner time that things went strange. Harry returned from a restroom trip clearly disturbed, and related the story of a visit by a strange house-elf (thankfully while he was washing his hands). Dobby, as the elf gave his name, insisted that " _Harry Potter must not return to Hogwarts!"_ and gave dire but extremely vague warnings about some evil plot aimed at the school. It also seemed that the little being was responsible for Harry's recent mail troubles, and still possessed a stack of intercepted letters.

Based on Harry's description of Dobby's appearance and behavior, the elf was likely being abused even worse than Harry himself had been, and likely belonged to whoever was behind the mysterious plot. Unfortunately, Harry's refusal to avoid the school hadn't deterred his possibly-deranged elfin stalker, who had departed with a look of resolve that likely did _not_ herald anything good.

Both Harry and Iruka agreed that they'd need to keep their eyes peeled for anything amiss, both over the remaining summer and back at Hogwarts. Iruka also promised to warn Headmaster Dumbledore immediately after the party, while Harry used the party itself as an opportunity to share an abbreviated version of the story with Neville and Hermione, committing to discuss the matter in more detail when they could all meet under quieter circumstances during term, assuming the situation hadn't been resolved by then.

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**V**

After the party Augusta asked Tilly, the Longbottom house-elf, if she knew to which family Dobby belonged; unfortunately but unsurprisingly, she didn't.

Iruka reported in to Headmaster Dumbledore as soon as he got back to Hogwarts, as promised. When an inquiry to the castle's elves found that they too were unaware of Dobby's family, both Professors were forced to conclude that at present they didn't have enough information to do more than watch and wait. They did, however, instruct the castle's elves to be on the lookout for an interloper matching Dobby's description, and to report any appearances by him to the Headmaster immediately.

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**V**

It was around ten the next morning when Iruka walked Harry back to the front door of #4 Privet Drive. Behind that door was a furious Vernon Dursley holding a crumpled piece of parchment.

"Inside. Now!" The obese man was clearly restraining himself from shouting through the open door. As soon as that door had shut behind them, however, his restraint evaporated.

"I should have known it was too easy getting you out of the house yesterday. As if anyone would actually have a party for a miserable little _freak_ like you! You both used that _unnaturalness_ to hide here to sabotage me! Not only did you ruin Petunia's perfect pudding, but the bloody owl that delivered _this_ " he brandished the parchment in his hand "upset Mrs. Mason. You ruined the biggest deal of my career, boy, and so help me-"

Vernon had started moving towards Harry, violent intent clear in every line of his body, while seemingly forgetting Iruka's presence. He got a reminder of that presence in the form of a hand clamping around his throat and lifting him off the floor. It wasn't quite tight enough to completely cut off his air supply, but it did cut off his tirade quite effectively.

"I can assure you that we were nowhere near this house last evening." Iruka's voice was calm, almost casual, as he used his chakra to both boost his strength and anchor his feet. "It's likely that the party-crasher Harry encountered briefly last night caused whatever trouble you experienced here. We are currently investigating where he came from, and would be happy to convey your displeasure at the intrusion should we find those responsible. Now, might I see that parchment?"

The half-afraid-half-angry Vernon feebly passed the item over. Smoothing it as best he could with one hand, Iruka read over the letter from Mafalda Hopkirk, finding it to be a warning notice for underage magic use. He'd have to clear that up on Monday.

"This changes nothing. While it is... unfortunate... that your deal fell through, the party or parties that caused last night's disruption are not here. Attempting to take your misfortune out on your nephew is not an acceptable response. The same rules continue to apply, do you understand?" Iruka's glare produced as much of a nod as someone being held aloft by their neck can manage. "Then I believe we are done here." He let go, allowing the terrified Dursley to crash heavily to the floor.

As they walked away from the dazed man, Iruka turned to Harry. "I'll straighten things out at the Ministry first thing on Monday. This may be just a warning, but we still don't want it on your record for something you had no hand in."

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**V**

Vernon's behavior had Iruka worried, so after talking with Harry to confirm that his idea met with his student's approval, he made his way to the home of the Granger family.

The door was opened by a woman, presumably Monica Granger. The petite woman looked to be in her mid-thirties, with brown hair in a bob-cut that framed a kind face from which hazel eyes studied her visitor, shining with a keen intellect. "Can I help you?"

"Mrs. Granger?" She nodded. "I'm Professor Iruka Umino, and I was hoping to speak to you and your husband regarding one of Hermione's friends at Hogwarts. May I come in?"

Hermione's mother blinked in surprise for a moment, before smiling brightly. "Of course. Wendell!" The name was called deeper into the house as she led Iruka in.

"In the kitchen!" A man's voice called back.

"Hermione told us that you saved her from a troll back at Halloween; given what we've read in that book on fantastic beasts, we probably have you to thank for still having a daughter." Her bright smile turned a bit brittle at that. "I can't really think of anything to do or say, except 'thank you'."

The second non-magical home he'd seen in this world showed a stark contrast to Harry's residence. Absent was the sterile, rigid vanity of the Dursley household, replaced by the clutter characteristic of a family home. While there were some photographs in evidence, they showed more than just the house's residents, and they were often stood on or hung between or on the ends of the packed bookshelves that seemed to line almost every significant stretch of wall. These shelves, and the fact that much of the clutter took the form of further books, showed that Hermione was not alone in her love of reading.

"Mum, who was i- Iruka-sensei?" Hermione had partially descended the stairs from the home's upper floor and was clearly surprised to see her teacher. "Why-"

Sensing one of her characteristic volleys of inquiry coming, Iruka cut her off preemptively with a raised palm. They'd been working on calming her tendency to interrogate people rapid-fire without permitting answers, but it was still very much a work in progress. "Everyone is fine; I'm here to talk to your parents about something regarding Harry. I can't tell you more than that right now, not until I've spoken to your parents and to Harry."

Hermione frowned at his response. Well, it was more of a pout actually, but Iruka certainly wouldn't say that where she might hear. Leaving his student to return upstairs, the chuunin teacher followed her mother into the kitchen, where he saw Wendell Granger assembling ingredients into a slow-cooker.

The first thing to draw his eye about Mr. Granger was his hair: It was a very dark blond, but just as bushy as his daughter's, and held in a ponytail that wasn't so much _tied back_ as _forcibly restrained_ (to only a debatable degree of success). Overall, the man was of about average height and build with a long face, receding hairline, and brown eyes that Hermione had obviously inherited.

"Welcome, Professor. I'd offer to shake your hand, but both of mine are a tad occupied at the moment, not to mention covered in various food-related substances. For now, then, I'll just say 'thank you for saving my daughter' and tell you that if you ever need my help, just ask. Oh, and feel free to grab a seat." He waved vaguely to the small dining table nearby.

"As one of her teachers, I'm sure it comes as no surprise to you that Hermione has kept us well-informed about the goings-on at Hogwarts. I can't say we were happy to hear about a staff member endangering and outright trying to murder students, but she said it was like a mystery story where you know enough to say whodunnit, but can't actually _prove_ anything. We both appreciate that you and Headmaster Dumbledore were doing what you could to keep Hermione and the other kids safe, it's just unspeakably _frustrating_ to know there's a threat to your child and you can't do anything about it. Thank you again for keeping Hermione and her friends informed, giving them what tools you could to stay safe."

Mrs. Granger chimed in at this point. "Also, as far as the _incident_ at the end of the term, we don't blame you at all. The kids may have made some mistakes, but they were at least well-intentioned, and they _are_ still children. We're hardly going to scold our daughter for caring about other people and trying to help them. For your part, you did the best you could with the information you had. As a wise, if fictional, man once said: 'It is possible to make no mistakes and still lose.'"

Her husband picked back up with an amused smile. "So, now that we're done blathering on, what brings you to our humble abode this fine day?"

After taking a moment to make sure there was nobody listening in, Iruka began. "I'm sure Hermione has told you about her friend Harry Potter?"

Mrs. Granger's expression turned pensive. "Yes, she's spoken a lot about him and Neville. She was suspicious that Harry's home life might not be very good."

Hermione's father chimed in. "From the fact that you're here to talk about him in the middle of summer, rather than the beginning or end, I'm betting she was more right than she realized. I'd also guess that you need help handling things in some way on our side of the divide, correct?"

Iruka nodded. "Yes, Harry's relatives are, to be blunt, abusive. It hasn't been sexual, thank the Sage, and I've certainly heard of worse cases in the physical aspect, but it's still a bad situation. Worse, recent events have left me afraid that the abuse may escalate soon."

"If Harry were an ordinary child," he continued, "law enforcement could handle things, but the laws on the magical side don't actually cover child abuse, and trying to prosecute things on this side would require answering questions about _where_ Harry goes to school. Still, it wouldn't be hard to get Harry's custody taken away from his relatives by the laws on the magical side, but between his celebrity status and the reasons behind it, plus government corruption, there's a strong chance that he'd be given to people that might be even more dangerous to him than his current guardians. What needs to happen, then, is to get Harry away from there without involving unanswerable questions by nonmagical law enforcement or placement by corrupt magical government."

"In other words," Mr. Granger replied over the running water as he washed his hands, "you need to get Harry's custody changed through the nonmagical system. His new guardians would presumably have to know about magic already, to avoid legal trouble later? They'd also need to understand the unique concerns surrounding Harry himself, which also involves information that's not all widely-shared, so you'd need to know you could trust them. What you're looking for, then, is a nonmagical family with a magical child, preferably a child that already gets along with Harry, and that is well-informed about the semi-secret events at Hogwarts this past year. Thus, your presence here."

Iruka was impressed. The man was certainly not at the level of a Nara, but had a sharp analytical mind. That his wife showed no surprise at the conclusions he'd stated showed that she was at least his equal mentally. It was no wonder Hermione was such a brilliant student considering her parents, both of whom he now recalled were a form of medical specialist and thus had to be highly-educated. "That _does_ sum up what brought me here. The whole thing would have to be legally solid, but at the same time kept as quiet as possible. I'll tell a few trustworthy magicals that might be able to help you retain custody if it later becomes known you've taken him in, but I suspect it would probably take some time to lay the groundwork properly."

Mr. Granger turned to his wife, who nodded. "Assuming Hermione is all right with it, not that that's a big 'if', I think we may be able to give you a tentative 'yes', on two conditions: First, you look into arranging whatever magical protections you can for our home; if wizards find out Harry's here some might decide to forego the legal process, either out of misplaced concern or because they mean him harm, and I want my family as safe against that as possible. Second, Hermione has been awfully vague about precisely what it is you've been teaching her and her friends, and we'd like a more detailed explanation."

Iruka gave a resigned sigh. He _really_ should have expected this...

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**V**

After Iruka once again gave an overview of his origins and skills, and described the training he was giving their daughter, the Granger parents were satisfied enough to call Hermione down and ask her if she would mind Harry coming to live with them. The enthusiastic hugs they both promptly received gave a rib-creaking demonstration of their daughter's improved physical conditioning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was only after writing the scene of Harry's return to #4 that I realized Iruka was doing an unintentional (on both his part and mine) Francis impression. That, of course, influenced a subsequent bit of phrasing in that scene. And yes, Mrs. Granger (mis-)quoted Captain Picard.


	2. Clout

Augusta had easily agreed to accompany Iruka to the Ministry to help clear Harry's record. While the Adjunct Professor's word alone could well have been enough, neither wanted to risk some officious bureaucrat making a stink and demanding more evidence. Whether because of the clout of the Longbottom matriarch, or just because the people present at the time in the Improper Use of Magic office were actually competent and honest, the incident was soon expunged.

Based on what he'd heard of the Ministry, Iruka suspected the 'clout' explanation.

After a long lunch, aged witch and ninja wizard made their way to the office of Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Madam Bones was at the top of the list Augusta composed of those who would likely be willing and able to discreetly help with Harry's custody situation. They'd set up an appointment with her for that afternoon, not knowing how long their business at the Improper Use of Magic Office would take.

Having previously given her his account of the events surrounding the Philosopher's Stone, this was Iruka's second meeting with Amelia Bones. As before, the square-jawed witch had her iron-grey hair cropped short, and wore a monocle along with robes of a cut not unlike his own. Her overall demeanor and mannerisms reminded him of some retired jounin - no longer taking field assignments, but still more ready for action than people might expect. His impression of her at their previous meeting was of a stern, honest woman that took her job with the seriousness it deserved.

"Madame Longbottom, Professor Umino." She greeted them from behind her desk. "To what do I owe this visit?"

"Before we begin," Iruka ventured, "I'd like to ask that the topic of this meeting be kept strictly confidential. You'll understand why, once we tell you about it, but for now we need to keep this as quiet as possible. I assume that this room is secure against eavesdropping?"

Madam Bones shifted slightly, and Iruka heard a faint tap under her desk where her hands were still out of sight. "It is now. Now what is so sensitive and important?" The 'that you need to bother _me_ with it instead of going through channels' was left loudly unsaid.

"We are trying to quietly shift custody of Harry Potter from his Muggle relatives," Iruka replied, "who are abusive and may present a threat to his safety, to the family of his Muggle-born friend Hermione Granger. The reasons we're meeting with you about it are threefold: One, we want to make sure all of the legalities are covered, to avoid leaving an opening for someone to contest the Grangers' custody. Second, we want to get everything done as quickly and discreetly as possible to avoid tipping off those who might interfere or target Mr. Potter or the Grangers. Third, we need to get authorization to ward a dwelling in a Muggle area."

The DMLE Head's already stern expression turned distinctly stormy at the mention of abuse. "Explain. Now."

Her tone grabbed Iruka by a part of his long-reinforced training, causing him to quickly slipped into reporting-to-a-superior mode, and he detailed the tangled knot surrounding Harry's custody and his concerns that Minister Fudge would personally intervene to hand custody over to his 'good friend' Lucius Malfoy. He explained his idea to handle the custody transfer entirely on the nonmagical side, keeping Harry's actual place of residence secret on the magical.

"I can't dispute that your assessment," Madam Bones said at last, "or that your plan is in Mister Potter's best interests, and it doesn't require breaking any laws. Would you or the Grangers mind if I brought in an old colleague to handle placing the wards? Alastor Moody is a retired Master Auror, one of the best this department's ever had; he's also notoriously paranoid, somewhat justifiably given the number of Dark witches and wizards he's killed or captured. Thanks to that paranoia, he also knows more about protecting a home magically than almost anybody else, so he should be able to help put up some solid defenses. It won't be to the level of Hogwarts or one of the old family manors, but it would at least buy time to call for help and try to escape or fight back. As far as discretion goes, he knows the value of secrecy, especially where He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his followers are involved."

Details were hammered out, followed by the filling in and signing of several pieces of parchment. Plans were made to apply a bit of discreet magic to fast-track the Muggle custody transfer paperwork, though it would still take over a week to get through the procedure and bureaucracy. Madam Bones also contacted Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, and after passing enough security checks to satisfy even a Kiri-nin got his agreement to help ward the Granger home. Once a (deliberately vague) time had been agreed upon with Iruka's input regarding the Grangers' schedules, the necessary permit was prepared along with a memo to the Improper Use of Magic Office to disregard spellcasting in the area during that window.

She also mentioned that unauthorized portkeys were illegal, but while their creation could incur a significant fine it was only their _use_ that would be detected unless they were made in a Muggle area. Iruka made a mental note to ask Headmaster Dumbledore for an emergency portkey for the Grangers.

Now he just had to talk to Harry.

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**V**

Harry had been hesitant at first. Ten years of conditioning told him that he was a burden, an unwanted imposition. It took Iruka the better part of half an hour to convince his student that Hermione and her parents would be happy to take him in. Once he finally accepted the possibility that he could be welcomed into someone's home (even if he still insisted on paying the Grangers back out of his vault), he was unsurprisingly quite eager to move. Iruka hated telling him that because they were trying to keep everything legal and quiet, it wouldn't be until late in the next week before the Grangers could legally take custody of him. He reassured the boy that he'd be visiting frequently in the meantime and keeping him apprised of any developments.

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**V**

Alastor Moody was... interesting. His prosthetic eye was certainly odd-looking, and its erratic movements made it clear how he got the nickname 'Mad-Eye'. That it occasionally seemed to be looking inward suggested that it could see through solid objects, not unlike a Byakugan. Such an ability _would_ explain why the maimed man was subtly keeping some distance from Iruka - he presumably saw the ninja's weapons, and wanted to stay out of their easy reach. As far as his attitude went, it wasn't that different from a certain type of veteran shinobi: Some managed to land in the uncomfortable realm of being strong enough to make a lot of enemies without being so strong that most of those enemies were dead. Lower-level ninja, especially those that didn't do much fieldwork like Iruka, were beneath most people's notice, while the true elites like the various current and former Kage generally didn't have many enemies still alive and able to pose a credible threat to them, even discounting the fact that they tended to have other strong shinobi nearby that could back them up.

All three members of the Granger family had been a bit uncomfortable at first in the retired Master Auror's presence, but their discomfort was pushed aside by fascination as Moody and Madam Bones cast a number of various protective spells over their house. Granted, only Hermione and Iruka were able to watch the work that was done from outside, as the two elite law-enforcers had spelled themselves to deflect attention from those without magic. Judging by the looks the DMLE Head gave her former colleague at times, Iruka suspected that a few of the enchantments may have been of somewhat questionable legality, but given who they were intended to protect and against whom, none of the three said anything about it.

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**V**

They _almost_ made it through the entire operation without any issues. Unfortunately, as Shinobi Maxim #17 stated, 'The longer everything goes according to plan, the bigger the impending disaster.' On the last visit before he expected to be able to move Harry completely legally, Iruka was about to step out of Harry's room when he sensed a presence just outside the door that was undoubtedly Vernon Dursley. Thinking it odd that the large man would be waiting there, he couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious.

Those suspicions were confirmed the moment Iruka stepped through the door. A weak spike of sakki and a swishing of air heralded an attack aimed towards his head. For a civilian, this could well have caught them off-guard and left them critically injured; for a chuunin-level shinobi, it meant that Dursley's swing with a flat wooden club came to an abrupt stop against the flat of a kunai held in reverse grip.

Vernon's shock at the failure of his ambush was replaced with agony as Iruka snapped a kick into the side of his knee, buckling it in a direction it was never meant to bend. After disarming the howling man, the chuunin leaned in and clamped a hand over his assailant's mouth.

"The only reason you are not going to die today," he stated harshly, "is because the police inquiry would cause too many complications. Now, before you think about causing those complications anyway, remember that you are provably guilty of several very serious crimes, a list to which you just added 'attempted murder'. Drawing the attention of law enforcement will _not_ end well for you or your wife, and that is just on the _non_ magical side. The whole mess could well leak into the news on the _magical_ side, where your nephew is a _beloved national hero_. How do you think they'd react to finding out how you treated Harry?" He could see a fresh dose of fear penetrating into Vernon Dursley's pained expression. "Oh, but it gets worse. As far as many of them are concerned, people without magic aren't really proper people - more like clever, savage apes. By their laws, you and your family have no rights. They could basically torment you with their magic as much as they wanted, and only face the equivalent of an animal cruelty charge. And do you know one of the things they hate most? Non-magical ' _Muggles_ ' like you trying to hurt wizards because they hate magic. Your only hope of living in peace is going to be if nothing that happened in this house _ever_ becomes known, do you understand?" At the man's panicked nodding, he grinned coldly. "Good. Now, we were going to be doing this in a couple days anyway, but I'm moving Harry out today. You and your wife just need to sign a couple pieces of paper, and Harry and I will leave here and never come back."

Iruka stepped back into Harry's room to help his student pack his belongings (and send Hedwig winging her way to Hermione's house) while keeping an eye on a still-supine Vernon whose wife was wailing tearfully over his injured leg. Once Harry was packed, Iruka held the custody transfer papers out to the Dursleys, who quickly signed them while shooting looks of utter hatred at both wizards. A minute later, there were no wizards at #4 Privet Drive.

As they walked to their Apparition point, Iruka could tell that his student was in something of a state of shock. It was understandable, really; a lot had happened in the last few minutes, and there was more yet to come: He'd watched as his uncle, who had bullied and terrorized him for most of his life, had tried to kill the first real adult he'd ever trusted. Said adult had then casually defeated and seriously injured said uncle, someone who had likely represented power and terror for the past decade for Harry. To see such a figure brought low so casually by his unassuming teacher had to be hard for the twelve-year-old to process. Now his aunt and uncle had signed away custody and he'd left their house, his prison, for what could very well be the last time. Despite their decade of mistreatment, it still likely hurt a bit to see his guardians so gladly signing him away. There was presumably the elation of freedom and escape, but this neighborhood was, until a year prior, basically all Harry had ever known. Even if very few of them were actually good, he had to have a lot of memories attached to the area. So that's fading fear, shock, a bit of horror, hurt, awe and joy, and a touch of melancholy; a lot of emotions to process, and that was just what had happened so far. Really, it was a wonder his brain wasn't overheating from all the work.

Now, of course, they were on their way to the Granger house. That meant the excitement and anticipation of seeing a friend, true, but it also meant a host of different emotions about meeting her parents, his new guardians. Would they like him, tolerate him, hate him like the Dursleys did (unlikely), or even maybe come to love him? Would he be a burden? Would he fit in with their household? Iruka knew his student well enough by now to see the questions roiling in his mind.

Shifting Harry's trunk over to rest on his hip (he couldn't shrink it without risking triggering the Ministry's detectors) he gently placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Don't worry," Iruka reassured his student, "I'm sure you'll get along fine with them. The timing isn't exactly what we'd planned, true, but Vernon's actions pushed the timetable up a bit."

"Why did he do that?" Harry's voice was faint, small.

"Power," Iruka answered. "Ever since they took custody of you, all three Dursleys had a lot of power over you. For a man like Vernon, and I've seen plenty of them before, power is one of their greatest cravings. Some rise to high positions where they have tremendous power, but some end up lower on the ladder. They're always aware of the fact that there's someone above them, someone that has power over them, and it chafes worse than sandpaper underwear. To have someone like you available, someone over whom he could exercise near-absolute power, would have been intoxicating for such a man."

"The first problem that cropped up was magic. Ever since last summer, he'd been feeling the threat of magic-users hanging over him. That was a kind of power he couldn't match, couldn't overcome, so it left him scared. He also had to worry about whether _you_ would have that power when you came back, and take his power away. Instead, _I_ took his power away at that first meeting, and I did it inside his home, one of the places where he should feel safest and most secure and powerful. The day after your birthday, he tried to exercise power over you, and I stopped him with an even greater show of power, again making him feel weak and helpless in his own home."

"His fear from that incident kept him at bay, until today. I don't know what tipped the scales, but somehow his hate, anger, and most importantly his need to retake his power overcame his fear of me. Most likely, after killing or incapacitating me, he'd have called in the police and told them I forced my way into his home and threatened him. Then, once I was out of the way, his attention would have turned to you. There's no telling how exactly he would have reasserted his power over you, but the cupboard would probably have been part of it; almost certainly, he'd have tried to keep you from returning to Hogwarts."

Harry's musings on this were temporarily interrupted while he focused on keeping his stomach contents where they were after the Side-Along Apparition to Crawley. Still, by the time they reached the Grangers' home it was obvious that the young wizard had a lot on his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was recently re-reading 'Harry Potter and the Rune Stone Path' by Temporal Knight, and found that he/she had already used the idea of quietly changing Harry's guardianship in the Muggle world. I'd honestly completely forgotten about that, though it may have prodded my thought processes a bit subconsciously. In this story, they're taking that approach for somewhat different reasons (although they're still a bit concerned about how Dumbledore might react), but they're acting mostly on the basis of "it's doubtful any Death Eater would be able to trace a transfer of custody through Muggle bureaucracy" and "Malfoy and his ilk won't notice Muggle proceedings and thus won't interfere".
> 
> Also, in hindsight I probably drew from 'Harry Five-O' by mjimeyg for the bit about power at the end.


	3. Meetings

Wendell Granger answered the door. "Professor Umino? And Harry Potter, I presume?" Both wizards nodded, the younger somewhat timidly. "You're here early, and you have Harry's things; the Dursleys crossed a line and you couldn't leave him there any longer." It was not a question.

Iruka nodded again. "Vernon tried to brain me with some kind of flat club..."

"A cricket bat," Harry nervously interjected.

"A 'cricket bat', apparently. Needless to say, I objected rather forcefully, and felt that the Dursleys presented too much of a risk to Harry's safety to leave him alone with them. I made sure they signed the paperwork before I left, though it'll still be at least a day or two before it's processed. Harry can stay at a friend's house until then, at which point he can live with his new guardians; conveniently enough, he'll already be with them." Iruka's serious expression morphed into a slight smile at the last sentence.

"Well, don't stand out there all day. Hermione! Company!" Mr. Granger's face took on a look of mischief.

Hermione came down the stairs. "Who is it Da- HARRY!" She was suddenly hugging her friend after a near shunshin-speed dash. Stepping back to simply grip him by the shoulders, the floodgates opened. "Are you all right? What _happened_? Is something wrong? Did your uncle do something? Are you staying?" Harry's bewildered look combined with the chuckles of the two adults present finally reached her. After giving both men a somewhat sheepish glare, she turned back to her friend. "Honestly!" she huffed, "Anyway, since you've brought your trunk, I can only _assume_ you're here to stay rather than just visit. Come on, I'll show you around." She grabbed the boy's hand and dragged him off, giving an incredibly detailed tour of the house and its surroundings complete with a constant stream of information and anecdotes.

"Let me guess," Iruka said dryly as he stepped through the doorway, "first time having a friend over?"

Wendell nodded, somewhat wistfully. "While the overprotective caveman in me is less than thrilled that they're both boys, I still can't thank you enough for introducing Hermione to her first real friends. Monica and I have never seen her this happy, this eager, aside from maybe when she first found out she was going to a school for magic. She was so happy to get the opportunity to learn something new and special, and she hoped that her magic was why she'd had so much trouble connecting with her peers and that she'd find others like herself at Hogwarts. We suspected that it wouldn't be that easy, but neither of us could bring ourselves to dampen the joy and hope we were seeing in our daughter."

"Unfortunately, her first two months at Hogwarts were pretty much like her prior schooling, socially at least. Actually, that's not quite true; she'd previously gone to day schools, so even if she was lonely during the school day she could at least come home to a loving environment. Being off in Scotland like that left her probably lonelier than she admitted in her letters, and that's before factoring in the bigotry and culture shock she was facing."

Iruka nodded solemnly as his host led him to what would now be Harry's room to deposit his student's possessions. "I don't know if she told you, but even before Halloween I'd been planning to either approach her myself or ask Minerva McGonagall to do so in hopes of giving her some advice to help better connect with her peers. Once she saw some of my abilities that night, I decided to go one step further and invite her to train with me as I'd intended to invite Harry and Neville. They were easily the most socially isolated students I knew of, and it was pretty clear all three had led fairly lonely lives to that point. Back in Konoha, we consider our bonds with others to be vitally important, and my biggest goal was to help those three find bonds of their own. I was an orphan myself, and a bit isolated as a child, so I reached out to the students I saw that needed it to hopefully give them a happier childhood than mine or some others I've known."

"It didn't happen overnight, but it was still hugely gratifying to watch three lonely children slowly start reaching out to each other, desperate for the bonds they'd been unable to form previously but at the same time so afraid of being hurt. Now, though, anyone messing with any of those three will soon find the other two after them, and they'll probably get even closer as time goes on. What form that takes, well, you might be taking in your future son-in-law, or Hermione's adopted brother. There's already some love there, it'll just take time, probably several years at least, to find out whether it'll be friendly, familial, or romantic. No matter what form it takes, I can tell you from experience that those who've suffered loneliness are often the most loyal and dependable companions you'll ever find."

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**V**

Before leaving that day, Iruka advised his students to avoid mentioning Harry's changed circumstances, particularly Harry in his correspondence with his parents' old acquaintances. Both children understood the importance of secrecy for security.

Harry settled in well at the Grangers. There were some inevitable bumps along the road, but things were soon well on their way to establishing a new and much healthier 'normal' for Harry's home life. For starters, he was now in a proper _home_ , rather than just a residence.

A couple of days after his move, both Harry and Hermione had received their Hogwarts letters. Iruka's next visit had found his two students had very different reactions to their subsequent Diagon Alley encounter with Gilderoy Lockhart, who would apparently be Hogwarts' new Defense teacher. Hermione was starry-eyed at having actually met an author in person, and also showed signs of her first schoolgirl crush (much to her parents' amused exasperation). Harry was far less pleased, having been effectively manhandled into an unwanted publicity photo-op despite his deep loathing for the entire 'Boy-Who-Lived' phenomenon. It was clear that this difference of opinion had created a degree of tension between the two, but that quickly began to fade once it was pointed out to Hermione how uncomfortable their soon-to-be Professor had made her friend by harping on his unwanted celebrity status. While trying to assure Harry that she was certain Professor Lockhart had had only the best of intentions, she did admit that he was a bit too forward and pushy. Iruka promised to explain to his new colleague about Harry's dislike of the spotlight.

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**V**

"Ah, Minerva! Do you have a moment?" It had taken weeks for Iruka to catch the perpetually-busy Transfiguration Professor / Head of Gryffindor / Deputy Headmistress at a time when she wasn't in the middle of some important task. "I'd been hoping to speak to you on a somewhat sensitive matter."

Minerva gave him a friendly smile. "I do, in fact. Shall we speak in my office?" At her colleague's nod, the two headed down the corridor, making small talk as they went.

Once they were seated behind closed doors, Iruka brought up the reason for his visit. "Minerva, before the end of term, do you recall three of your First-Years coming to you with a warning about an attempt against the Philosopher's Stone?"

"I dare say it would be hard to forget," she replied, "three children in their first year here that somehow knew about the direst secret in the castle, babbling it in three-part disharmony at the tops of their voices in the middle of the corridor. Perhaps you might shed some light on _how_ they came to know about the Stone?"

Her stern gaze was impressive, but he'd been glared at by the Third Hokage. "A lot of it was their own research into odd clues they'd picked up. Perhaps you might shed some light on why you didn't investigate their warning at all?"

Minerva recoiled, her face a mixture of shock and outrage. "The Stone was perfectly safe!" she responded heatedly. "I should think that if Albus's assurances on the matter were insufficient, you would at least accept the fact that poor Quirinus failed to breach its defenses as proof. All those three were accomplishing with their shouting was causing a disturbance and spreading secrets that weren't theirs to know in the first place. I am sorry that Messrs. Potter and Longbottom were injured in their ill-conceived attempt at intervention, but perhaps it will serve as a lesson that adult matters are best left to adults to handle. They'd have been fine if they'd listened when I told them to drop it."

"They might be fine," Iruka conceded, "but I would most likely be dead." His calm, matter-of-fact tone made the words hit all the harder, and Minerva deflated somewhat in bafflement. "Albus and I were already quite certain that Quirrell was the one responsible for the attack on Harry during his first Quidditch match," at her confused look, he gave a vague wave of his hand to indicate that he'd explain later, "and that he was attempting to steal the Stone. Given the fact that he was apparently drinking unicorn blood to sustain himself, we knew he must be getting desperate, which made him an urgent danger that had to be dealt with. Lacking proof, we decided to bait him into acting when we'd be able to catch him in the act."

"That was why Albus was out of the castle that evening," he explained, "so that Quirrell would think the coast was clear. My role would be to conceal myself outside the Stone's corridor, to keep him from leaving or to intervene if he was using a student as a hostage or the like. Albus would return to the castle later in the night, and confront Quirinus himself. That plan went sideways when I found out that Harry's scar was aching, and that it had been doing so off and on all year. A curse mark like that, I'm sure you can guess what I inferred about Quirrell's motives?"

It took a few thoughtful moments before Minerva's eyes widened in horror. At her shaky nod, he continued. "I felt that if he was trying not just to save himself, but to somehow bring back He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, we couldn't risk leaving him to his own devices, especially if his master was somehow aiding him. With Albus not returning to the castle for a while yet, the only option was to intercept Quirrell. That was why I sent three students I trusted and that already knew something about the Stone to find you and tell you I needed backup."

"I was able to make it past the obstacles you and the others placed there," he said, "but Quirrell was apparently able to use magic wandlessly, and he caught me off-guard. Albus's defense was still frustrating him, but being helpless in the presence of an increasingly-agitated Dark wizard isn't exactly the safest situation. Had it not been for Harry's intervention, I honestly have no idea how it would have turned out."

Minerva slumped slightly in her seat. "End of term is always a hectic time period, and I'd had a long day, so I wasn't exactly at my best. Those three were so frantic, I could hardly make out anything they were saying. I admit, my first reaction was akin to 'I am too tired and busy to deal with this,' and my second was 'These children shouldn't even know about this'. James Potter and his friends, you must understand, were inveterate pranksters and makers of all sorts of trouble, and it's likely that I allowed memories of his father to color my perception of young Harry. In the end, I drove the trio off with threats of detention or worse without truly hearing them out, too caught up in worry that they'd go poking into the forbidden corridor if I didn't scare them off it. To think that it was that very act that drove them into doing so..."

"It sounds like mistakes were made all around," Iruka commented, "and I'll be sure to explain to those three the importance of clear communication once school starts back up."

His hostess nodded. "And I shall try to be more attentive to the concerns of my students. Between this and the fiasco with Severus, it is clear to me that I need to listen more open-mindedly when a student speaks."

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**V**

A week later saw Iruka at the pre-start-of-term Staff Meeting. Much of it was the same as the previous year's, though due to the new influx of first-year students he found himself scheduling some additional class sessions. These would be intended for new beginners to fuuinjutsu, giving them a class to start from scratch rather than dropping them straight into a group that had already been practicing for a year. Students could attend any of the classes as they wished, so diligent new students might have more chance to catch up while existing pupils that were struggling could go back over the basic lessons.

There was also an entertaining moment where Severus Snape was congratulated for his students' remarkably high scores on their Potions O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. exams the past year. Iruka couldn't help but feel a bit of vindictive amusement at seeing the dour head of Slytherin struggling to decide between being proud of the accomplishment or angry at the indirect reminder of being forced to teach properly and impartially.

The other major change from the previous year, other than the absence of a lethal forbidden corridor, was the new Defense Professor. Even setting aside the negative impression he'd gotten from Harry's described encounter, Iruka was distinctly unimpressed by Gilderoy Lockhart who was, as far as he could tell, a pompous buffoon. The man shamelessly preened at even the slightest hint of attention or an audience, and took every opportunity to wax poetic about his heroic exploits. A seed of doubt was growing in the chuunin's mind about those exploits, though: Lockhart didn't move like the seasoned warrior he claimed to be, didn't show an awareness of his surroundings.

For shinobi and those in similar professions, it was an essential skill to be able to assess the combat ability of those you met, as everyone was both a potential enemy and a potential asset. Skilled ninja could learn to suppress the subtle tells that would differentiate them from a civilian, but it was a constant cat-and-mouse game between those learning to suppress their tells and those looking to spot tells even when imperfectly suppressed. Either the famed author was also a highly skilled actor, or he wasn't nearly as capable as he claimed. Given how loudly and often he _was_ claiming such prowess, it seemed particularly unlikely that he'd be simultaneously trying to appear harmless. The only possibilities Iruka could think of thus far were either he _did_ have some reason to act the fool, or he hadn't actually carried out the heroic acts he was claiming. Perhaps he was acting as a glamorous public front for a less photogenic hero?

Regardless, after the meeting wound down, Iruka approached the man. "Professor Lockhart, could I speak with you a moment?"

"Ah, yes, Professor Umino, was it? Fascinating to see such a previously-unknown branch of magic being taught at Hogwarts, and from a mysterious far-off land no less! Of course, I saw something similar used by the shamans of Malaysia..."

"I'll have to look into that," Iruka interrupted what would likely be another long-winded anecdote before it could build momentum, "but what I really need to speak with you about is Harry Potter."

"Too shy to ask for his autograph yourself, eh? Never fear, I'll speak to him once term starts and sort something out for you! I'm sure young Harry and I will be spending a great deal of time together; the lad needs a mentor when it comes to properly managing fame and public image, after all."

"I'm afraid you have it somewhat backwards, Professor. I spoke to Harry recently and he was less than pleased at having been conscripted into that press photo in Flourish and Blotts. While you may enjoy your fame, Harry is a very private young man and prefers to avoid the spotlight, especially given the fact that people seem to forget that the event which made him famous also cost him both his parents."

The expression on Lockhart's face was probably meant to look wise and solemn, but landed closer to the vicinity of 'constipated'. "Yes, such a tragedy, a promising young couple cut down in their prime. Truly, fame comes at a terrible price."

Did he just compare his own work to Harry's loss? That... that had to be the most insensitive attempt at sensitivity Iruka had ever heard. "Yes, well... In any case, I'd just ask that you respect Harry's wishes and his privacy. Please just treat him like any other student, don't single him out or call attention to him unless it's for something he does here at school."

"Of course, of course," the Defense teacher replied, "we all need time to just relax and be ourselves after all, especially at such a tender young age." Somehow, Iruka didn't think it was going to be that easy.

Working to hold up his end of the deal with Amelia Bones, Iruka had begun teaching classes at the DMLE on first aid and emergency field medicine. They were large classes, with all of the department's trainees and any staff not currently busy on an assignment; even Director Bones and Head Auror Scrimgeour were participating. The rationale was: Any of them might need this at some point, so all should learn it. A secondary session had been arranged to handle those personnel that couldn't attend the main class. Several Healers and Healer trainees from Saint Mungo's were also in attendance.

The first class session had gotten a bit awkward, as several of the 'students' scoffed dismissively at the "worthless Muggle healing". Most of the doubters changed their tunes after Alastor Moody came to the second lesson and berated them for a good ten minutes straight, complete with detailed graphic anecdotes about several of his scars and how he could have benefitted from these techniques, along with reminders of several friends, comrades, and innocent victims he'd lost over his career who might have been saved. Needless to say, all but the most die-hard bigots shut up and began seriously trying to learn. Judging by the unimpressed looks Bones and Scrimgeour were giving those remaining holdouts, their prospects for promotion had probably just dropped a bit. It also seemed that many of their colleagues were thinking that they'd rather avoid being partnered with the bigots; after all, in a dangerous profession one hopes one's partner will do everything possible to help if they're injured.

Iruka also spent some time with the DMLE quartermaster working out the types and quantities of supplies for field first-aid kits. Mundane kits could work, but many of the supplies they contained were pretty superfluous for magicals. Why bother applying antiseptic cream and an adhesive bandage to a small scrape when an **Episkey** is faster and more effective? Besides, the department's tight budget would take less of a hit buying things in bulk rather than pricier pre-made kits, and the kits themselves could be enchanted with expansion and Featherlight charms to make it easy to carry ample supplies even on a long foot patrol.

The lessons would continue well into the fall term, scheduled around Iruka's work at Hogwarts, but both he and the leaders of the DMLE were talking about another round of classes the next year, to teach new hires and new trainees and to refresh everyone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized a while after writing this that the bit about Snape being both happy and angry about the improved Potions marks is at least inspired by "Ah, Screw It!" by mjimeyg.
> 
> The scene where Iruka confronts McGonnagal came about because of a discussion with a reviewer that wanted a clearer idea of how and why she turned away a request for aid from another Professor. I will admit to that particular plot point being due in part to me forcing things - Hagrid and the four Heads of House showing up together to deal with Quirrellmort would have been a tad anticlimactic, I don't want Iruka's influence fixing everything, and I really wanted to have Harry's confrontation with Quirrellmort (mostly to show a more realistic aftermath and handling thereof).


	4. Additions

It was the first Saturday of the new term, and Iruka was waiting in the Come-and-Go Room. While the configuration was mostly like he'd used for training the previous year, a new section had been added: At the other end of the straight wall that held the entry area there had previously been only a blank stone wall. Now, in defiance of the geometry of the adjoining corridor, there was a rectangular room several meters tall and across but over twenty meters deep. Its floor, walls, and ceiling were all made of rough wood, and a set of thick wooden posts with circles of various sizes painted on them were set in tracks on the floor running the room's length. Just inside this addition sat several cases of shuriken and kunai, some of which were blunt practice models.

As he waited for his now four students to arrive, the chuunin reflected on the week so far.

The Sorting had been about like the previous year's. Iruka had noted Luna being sorted into Ravenclaw (hardly surprising given her inquisitive mind) and Ginny, the youngest Weasley child, joining the rest of her family in Gryffindor. After the meal, Professor Lockhart had been introduced, prompting much swooning (not all of it female).

There had been a great deal of talk about an incident at King's Cross Station. Apparently, the magical platform from which the Hogwarts Express left (it was a sign of how inured to Wizarding Britain's insanity Iruka was becoming that he barely twitched at it being numbered nine-and-three-quarters) was separated from the rest of the (otherwise non-magical) station by a brick wall that allowed people to pass through and onto the Platform. In what according to the rumors was an unprecedented event, that barrier had suddenly and inexplicably closed, functioning only as an ordinary brick wall. Ministry personnel had struggled with it for some time, and eventually resorted to a series of short-range Portkeys to move the growing backlog of travelers and families over. All of this had later been more-or-less confirmed to Iruka by Harry, who had apparently been unfortunate enough to be the first person to bounce painfully off the barrier.

The door to the Room opened to admit three second-year students who were keeping themselves slightly apart from a blonde first-year that skipped happily into the entryway.

«Good morning, Iruka-sensei!» Luna chimed brightly, giving him a small wave. The other three looked at her in confusion.

"Good morning, Luna," Iruka replied with a warm smile, "and please stick to English for now. We can work in language lessons later if people want." He was not at all surprised to see a familiar gleam in Hermione's eyes at that. She'd not been a frequent attendee of his language tutoring, mostly because she was so focused on her magical studies, but it would seem that this was too good an opportunity for her to pass up.

"Now that you're all here, I'd like to welcome you all back, or simply welcome you to Hogwarts in Luna's case. Speaking of Luna, I hope you three have introduced yourselves to her?" The second-year S.E.N. members looked a bit sheepish. "Well then, perhaps you should all start with that; your names, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future."

Luna again smiled broadly at everyone. "Hello, my name is Luna Lovegood. I like animals, my family, and pudding; I dislike people being closed-minded; my hobbies are learning new things and helping my Daddy with the Quibbler, and my dream is to become a Healer and find new ways to help people."

Harry was the first to reply. "Hello, Luna, my name is Harry Potter. I like my friends and loved ones, and treacle tart; I dislike my fame, and people who hurt others; my hobby is flying on my broom, and my dream is to have a world where my precious people and I can be safe from people like Voldemort."

Hermione took Neville's flinch at the name as an opportunity to speak next. "My name is Hermione Granger. I like books and learning new things; I dislike bullies and bigots; my hobby is reading interesting books and my dream is to show that Muggleborns can be good witches and wizards too."

"Hi, Luna," Neville said a bit shyly, "my name is Neville Longbottom. I like my friends and quiet places; I dislike Death Eaters and people that look down on those without magic; my hobby is working with plants, and my dream is to find a way to heal my parents."

"Well done, all four of you." Iruka could see that the barriers between Luna and the others weren't anywhere near completely gone (well, at least on the trio's side; Luna didn't really _have_ barriers), but that was to be expected. Spending time together was the only real way to bring those walls down. "We'll be mostly picking up where we left off last year, but there'll be a bit more of an emphasis on combat techniques than before. After what happened in June, your guardians and I have agreed that it would be best to focus more on helping you protect yourselves from attack. Go ahead and get changed, then come join me on the mats."

A few minutes later the quartet of students had all returned. "For those of you that have trained here before, you may have noticed a new addition." He motioned towards the addition and led them over to it. "Can any of you guess what this area is for?"

"It looks like a target range," Hermione commented, "is it for practicing our spell accuracy?"

"Good observation Hermione, and good thinking. While we could and probably will use it to practice spell accuracy at some point, for now it's mostly for demonstration and later for practicing something else." With a grin, Iruka stepped into motion, and his arms _blurred_. A moment later, a large number of loud _thunk_ sounds announced the many pieces of sharpened steel that now protruded from the target posts. "One of the things I hope to get you started on this year is buikijutsu, weapon techniques. If we can get far enough, I may be able to begin teaching you shurikenjutsu as well - that's techniques using shuriken, those star-shaped blades, and other thrown weapons. Before you can learn to throw weapons, though, you'll need to learn how to use them, and even that comes after learning how to properly and _safely_ handle, carry, store, and maintain such weapons. Today we'll be mostly going over the safe handling rules and methods, but first," he said bringing his hands together with a clap, "warm-ups!" He stepped back onto the running track and adopted a grin he'd adapted from the Sixth Hokage. "Time to start running, my cute little students..."

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**V**

Lessons continued, both official and unofficial, as the fall semester fell into its usual Hogwarts rhythm (a syncopated 7/4 beat, for those that are curious). Interestingly, it seemed that Iruka wasn't the only member of staff looking to give extracurricular lessons: Harry reported in a private session during the second week of term that Professor Lockhart had approached him after class and offered to teach him about how to handle fame, celebrity, and public relations.

In spite of the poor impression both had of the Defense Professor, Iruka still urged Harry to consider the offer. Even if the man were utterly useless at magical defense (something his classes so far had suggested), he _was_ a celebrity and might be able to give the young Gryffindor advice that the chuunin was ill-equipped to provide. After all, while "kill or maim any foreign ninja that disparages you" might have been reasonably solid PR in the pre-Fourth-War Elemental Nations, it probably wouldn't work quite as well in Wizarding Britain. Of course, given the somewhat seedy vibe coming from the immaculately-groomed Lockhart, Iruka intended to speak with the Headmaster about setting up a couple of discreet monitoring charms to make sure any private lessons stuck to appropriate topics.

That inquiry, as well as questions about whether Gilderoy Lockhart was actually qualified to teach Defense, were why the chuunin was now approaching the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to Headmaster Dumbledore's office. It leapt aside as usual, and he ascended the revolving staircase to his employer's door.

"Welcome and good morning, Iruka! Lemon drop?" Iruka refused the offered confection but accepted the gestured invitation to sit. "I take it that you have come here for reasons beyond rescuing me from the endless drudgery of parchmentwork?"

"Yes, I was hoping to ask you for a bit of help. You see, Professor Lockhart has offered to give Harry some lessons on how to handle his fame and control his public image. I've encouraged him to accept, since it would be useful material for him to know; it's not like he can simply stop being famous, after all, and if you're not careful fame can easily turn into infamy. You were already an adult when you became famous, so you had the opportunity to learn and adapt to it, but Harry's still just a child and I'm hoping this might help him to avoid mistakes that could cause him lasting harm in the public eye."

"Where you come in," the chuunin continued, "is my hope that you could set up monitoring of any such tutoring sessions as you monitored me last year. Beyond simple due diligence, something about Professor Lockhart doesn't feel entirely right to me."

Dumbledore stroked his beard as he thought. "A discreet listening charm or two wouldn't be difficult. I'm sure one of my predecessors' portraits could be persuaded to handle the monitoring. Some of them do get rather bored at times. I am somewhat concerned about causing Harry's fame to go to his head if he spends too much time with Professor Lockhart, but I am sure that you and his friends will help keep his feet firmly on the ground, and besides that your point about his public image is well made. Had I the time, I might offer to advise him myself, but alas my numerous responsibilities would make such a time-consuming endeavor rather difficult to schedule."

"Thank you, Albus," Iruka replied. "On a related note, I am beginning to develop concerns regarding Professor Lockhart's ability to effectively teach Defense, and was hoping to ask you about his qualifications..."

The Headmaster's wistful smile fell away. "I am afraid that it is rather likely that Gilderoy's actual qualifications for the Defense post are slim or non-existent. Before you direct your outrage at me, please permit me to explain. As with our... less than ideal History of Magic Professor, there are certain considerations and complications surrounding the Defense Against the Dark Arts post. Firstly, we have of late been unable to retain any Defense Professor for more than one academic year, and none have later returned to the post. Many believe, although it has not been proven, that Lord Voldemort placed some sort of curse upon the position at some point in the past. Because of this rumored curse, many potential candidates avoid the position out of fear."

"With few candidates of quality, if any, I am often forced to choose among a poorer selection of options. While I could simply reject all of them, there are ways in which the Ministry can insert a person of their choosing into any Hogwarts vacancy which the Headmaster is unable or unwilling to fill. Given Lucius Malfoy's influence with Minister Fudge and his position as head of the school's Board of Governors, I am left with a choice between selecting a subpar but inoffensive teacher and permitting one who might well be a danger to their students, either directly through their actions or indirectly through the influence they exert on impressionable young minds. Further complicating matters is that I must be able to justify my new hire to the Board if pressed, and thus I am at times forced to employ a more impressive individual over a more competent one."

"Having access to Gilderoy Lockhart's records from his time as a student here, and recalling him as he was then, I am well aware that his skills with magic are average at best in spite of a great deal of apparent potential which he sadly never put forth the effort to fulfill. In fact, I find it quite likely that the man is a fraud to at least some degree, at least inasmuch as I sincerely doubt that he personally achieved any of the feats he claims in his books, save for such things as the Most Charming Smile awards. I personally know a couple of individuals who were in the right place at the right time with the correct skills and temperament to be the actual parties behind certain of his tales, but in my correspondence with them they have claimed no involvement in his supposed feats. Whether this is the truth or not is yet unclear."

"All that said, the man's public image is impressive enough to hold off any questions by the Board, and the precarious nature of such images that you mentioned earlier should ensure that he remains on his best behavior around the eager eyes and ears and notoriously loose lips of our student body. It is also far from unlikely that the supposed curse, if it exists, might act upon him in such a way as to cause a revelation of the truth behind his glittering persona."

"I see," Iruka replied at last, "and I can't really fault your reasoning. Would I be correct in guessing that this is at least a part of why you agreed with my plan to incorporate more combat-focused training for Harry and his friends?" The Headmaster nodded solemnly. "I'll do my best to give them as many tools as possible to survive any future dangers. I'd also ask that you send me a short list later of books you'd recommend I point them towards to self-study defensive magics, since I don't really know that much about it myself. In any case, I'm afraid that's all I had, so your reprieve from tedium is unfortunately at an end." Both men shared a wry chuckle as the chuunin let himself out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a lot of action this chapter, I'm afraid. Things'll pick up a bit next chapter though, I promise.
> 
> To guest reviewer Leslie: I am not myself a teacher, but both of my parents were, along with two grandparents and a bunch of uncles/aunts/cousins/friends/ancestors. Needless to say, I have a great deal of respect for educators.


	5. Day of the Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Underlined text is from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

The early fall term continued without major incident. As is always the case, there were still minor annoyances. Harry had complained bitterly about Draco Malfoy's father shamelessly buying his son a position as Slytherin House's new Seeker in Quidditch. Iruka pointed out that even with such superior brooms, the green-and-silver team would be fielding an untested rookie in a key position, one whose skills were likely not the best of those available given the fairly large bribe that six brand-new top-of-the-line brooms represented. The superior brooms would probably give the rest of the Slytherin team an advantage, but that was offset by the fact that their players tended to rely more on dirty play than actual skill. Gryffindor's entire team was made up of returning players, all of whom were said among the staff to be some of the best currently at Hogwarts. The match between snakes and lions would be one of superior equipment versus superior skill and teamwork.

One of the new Gryffindor first-years was being a bit of a pest as well. Apparently, Colin Creevey was thoroughly starstruck and was constantly following Harry around with a camera. Twice already the members of S.E.N. had needed to use the three second-years' superior knowledge of the castle to lose their shutterbug tail en route to weekend training. Seeing how uncomfortable the whole situation was making Harry, Iruka offered to speak to the boy after the next beginners' fuuinjutsu class; as with many of those not raised around magic, the enthusiastic first-year was attending Iruka's lessons. He'd already had to forbid the child from bringing out his camera during his classes (as had several other professors). As with Professor Lockhart, when the young Gryffindor was told that Harry was a very private person and preferred to avoid attention, and that his behavior was making the object of his hero-worship uncomfortable, he agreed to back off. Unlike Lockhart, Colin was clearly sheepish and apologetic about the whole matter. Hopefully the lesson would stick and encourage the rather hyperactive little boy to curb his enthusiasm somewhat.

Hermione's birthday was celebrated in the Room with S.E.N., Iruka hand-delivering a card, gift, and letter from her parents. They saved the cake for _after_ training to avoid unpleasantness.

Near the end of October Harry reported that, due in part to a run-in with an irate Filch, he'd committed to attending the party for Sir Nicholas's five-hundredth deathday on Halloween. While not especially sad to avoid a large celebration on what he now knew as the anniversary of his parents' deaths, he was also less than eager to spend that evening surrounded by a morbid celebration _of_ death. The rest of S.E.N., including Iruka, had quickly vowed to attend with him out of a combination of solidarity and curiosity.

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**V**

Even before the five had arrived at the party, Iruka had placed warming charms on everyone to combat the chill caused by the presence of so many ghosts. All five were sticking close together to ward off both the cold that still made it through and the increasingly dismal atmosphere created by the eerie icy blue flames of the torches. The grating, screeching undead equivalent of music didn't help matters any.

The room containing the party itself was as cold as a meat locker, though that clearly hadn't saved the food laid out on a long table, all of which was thoroughly rancid or otherwise ruined. They watched several ghosts pass through the table with their wide open mouths hitting one or more items. Hermione suggested that the food had been allowed to spoil in order to produce as strong a flavor as possible, even if that flavor was utterly disgusting. Iruka called Flippy to bring their living group of partygoers a small table of more edible food from the kitchens, which she did before departing in a shivering hurry.

As fascinating as a ghost party was to see for the first time, once the novelty wore off it became a fairly standard high-society party - in other words, S.E.N. mostly stood around feeling bored and uncomfortable while trying to find a good reason to leave. Thankfully Luna helped relieve the gloom a bit with her eternally sunny disposition.

"Hello, Lady Helena," she addressed the Grey Lady, the Ravenclaw House Ghost, a young woman with beautiful features but an aloof expression, "are you enjoying Sir Nicholas's party?"

A bit of surprise, bordering on shock, flitted briefly across the ghost's face before she favored the young Ravenclaw with a faint gentle smile and considering look. "As much as I can, I suppose. It's more a matter of being here to support an old friend than actually enjoying the party. Truth be told, I would much prefer a quiet evening in the company of a good book. I tend to tire quickly of most people's company, particularly those small-minded fools that treat what little they deign to learn as all that is worth knowing. From what I have seen of you the past two months though, you seem like one of the more interesting types to converse with - someone with a deep well of curiosity and a mind that is truly open and eager to learn."

"Minds are like books," Luna nodded with a bright smile, "they're so much more useful when they're open. Oh, but I'm forgetting my manners! Lady Helena, these are my friends Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom, and Hermione Granger, and our teacher Umino Iruka. Everyone, this is Lady Helena, the Ravenclaw House Ghost."

The Grey Lady's smile became somewhat colder and more forced as she nodded stiffly to the other four, who nodded back respectfully, before turning back to Luna. "And what is it that brings five living souls to a deathday party?"

"Well, Sir Nicholas invited Harry after he and Peeves helped Harry out of a bit of trouble with Filch. The rest of us figured he'd be lonely coming on his own, and none of us had ever seen a party for ghosts before." A significant look passed between living Ravenclaw and dead, and the latter gave a near-imperceptible nod; she understood _why_ they didn't want Harry alone tonight of all nights. "It's quite fascinating, really: I would have thought that without needing to stay touching the floor it would open up new dances, but the moves seem just the same as a regular waltz. Hermione was also wondering if the reason for the food being the way it is is to give it a stronger flavor."

"Indeed, you are correct Miss Granger." Lady Helena scoffed. "It's pointless, really. No matter how strong you make it, we still can't taste nor smell anything. We can't truly feel touch, either, even if we can sometimes affect things as if we still had a physical body. Oh, we can feel ourselves and each other, and we can see and hear, but all our senses are somewhat muffled, a bit like being drunk but without the pleasant warmth. As long as I've spent in this state, I'm afraid I cannot in perfect honesty recommend it. Far better to live a satisfying life and not leave anything important undone."

Luna stepped forward and reached out, making a patting motion at the Grey Lady's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll move on one day," she said gently, "when you're ready. Until then, you might as well enjoy all the new books that keep coming through the school. The wrackspurts will go away eventually, even if you still have quite a few. You should speak to the Bloody Baron - he seems to have a similar infestation, and he's alone so much there's nobody to help him with it. Maybe you could help each other?"

The Ravenclaw House Ghost speared the first-year with an intense, searching gaze. "I shall... consider your words, Miss Lovegood. If you would excuse me..." She drifted away, clearly deep in thought.

It was at this point that the Headless Hunt arrived in force, much to the chagrin of the night's guest of honor. "How terribly _rude_!" Hermione said none-too-quietly as they disrupted Sir Nicholas's speech with a game of Head Hockey. "They come to somebody else's party, mock the man on an important occasion for him, then cause a ruckus and distract people in the middle of his speech. I would have thought nobles in their time would still have been taught _manners_ at the very least!" A couple of nearby ghosts nodded at her comments, while some others that had been cheering the game looked transparently abashed, or maybe abashedly transparent.

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**V**

The five had soon made their excuses and departed for warmer climes. As they made their way towards the upper floors, Iruka felt a large presence approaching, one radiating a sizable amount of sakki.

Instantly snapping into combat readiness, he stepped into a combat stance between his students and the oncoming threat. "Spearhead formation, wands ready." His words were quiet but held his full authority. All five students moved into one of the formations he'd worked on with them as part of their more combat-oriented training that year. This one spread them behind Iruka, in order to allow him to confront an enemy and protect his allies, while still allowing them to support him with their still fairly limited repertoire of hexes and jinxes. Many wizards scoffed at the seemingly harmless spells taught early in Hogwarts' curriculum, but even something as innocuous as a Tripping Jinx could turn the tide of a fight if timed properly.

The mysterious presence came closer, and instead of footsteps Iruka heard a sliding, scraping sound that even as muffled as it was he identified as the movement of a _very_ big snake. While it wasn't strictly impossible that Sasuke or Mitarashi Anko (or even Orochimaru or Yakushi Kabuto) had managed to follow him to this world and decided to prank him before revealing themselves, the chances were so vanishingly small that he suspected that this was _not_ a friendly snake.

Iruka had a kunai ready in his left hand with his wand in his right, ready to defend his students, but instead the presumed snake moved hissing past the group, somewhere behind or inside the corridor wall judging by what he could hear. As it moved upward and away, the chuunin stowed his kunai but kept his wand ready. "I'm following it," he told the children, "stay close and stay ready." No way was he leaving the four alone and undefended with something big and probably dangerous slithering around.

The five moved off in pursuit, Iruka restraining his speed to allow his students to keep up. Thankfully, all four were by now in pretty good shape and were able to dash after him at speeds most of their classmates would have had trouble maintaining beyond a brief sprint. When the cacophonous babble of voices from the Great Hall drowned out the snake's movement as they passed through the Entrance Hall, they continued up the stairs hoping it didn't double back. On the first floor, Harry suddenly shouted out, "It's going to kill someone!" Iruka glanced back in confusion as his student pushed his pace faster. Had he felt its sakki?

Continuing upwards to the second floor, S.E.N. chased the hostile serpent through numerous corridors before rounding a corner and coming upon an ominous sight. Meter-high words were scrawled high across the wall above the torch sconces, in what Iruka's nose told him even at this distance was blood:

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

The stiff form of Mrs. Norris hung from one of the sconces by her tail, and the entire macabre scene was reflected in a large puddle of water extending from the door of a closed girls' toilet.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the presence Iruka had sensed was fading fast, and he couldn't tell what direction it had gone from here. It was already far enough away that the sakki he had first sensed was faint, almost imperceptible, and the sounds he'd been using to track its movements were simply too quiet to be heard through the intervening stone. Rather than make a desperate and probably hopeless attempt to continue chasing the creature, Iruka decided to handle the more immediately-accessible situation.

"Flippy!" The house-elf appeared with a crack. "Go to Professor Dumbledore and ask him to come here as quickly as possible, along with Mr. Filch." Responding with a quick nod, she popped back out. A quick general-purpose Disspelling Charm failed to release Mrs. Norris from whatever had afflicted her, meaning she'd need more knowledgeable help than he could provide; if the Headmaster couldn't do it, he'd probably at least know who could or if it was impossible.

Iruka turned to his students. "You can put your wands away, I think. Whatever that was, it's gone far enough that I can't tell where it went, so we should be safe enough. Headmaster Dumbledore will be here soon; hopefully he'll know more."

It wasn't the Headmaster that was first to arrive, however, but a mass of students leaving the just-ended Halloween Feast. Their rumbling footsteps and excited, sugar-amplified babble trailed off into shocked silence as they came upon the tableaux. After a few moments, that silence was broken by a triumphant, high-pitched shout:

"Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!"

It took only a moment to identify the source of the bigoted crowing. "That will be ten points from Slytherin and a night's detention, Mister Malfoy, for using that disgusting slur, and another fifty points and a week's detention for threatening your fellow students." Unlike the blonde second-year, Iruka didn't need to raise his voice to make himself heard.

"You can't do that!" The boy shouted at Iruka, shocked. "When my father hears of this-"

"I suspect that he will tell you to moderate both your language and behavior when in polite company." Headmaster Dumbledore's calm voice cut right across Draco's budding tantrum. "I cannot, of course, be truly certain of that, nor what his response will be to his son espousing such a toxic viewpoint." His tone of voice managed to clearly imply that he knew it was the elder Malfoy from whom the younger had learned his bigotry. "Regardless, I would ask all students save those accompanying Professor Umino to return to their House common rooms for the evening."

As the student body slowly departed, clearly reluctant to miss out on any further entertainment or gossip fodder, Argus Filch stomped forward. "My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs. Norris?"

"Come with me, Argus," the Headmaster said, "You too, Iruka, and your students here."

"My office is nearest, Headmaster..."

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**V**

Lockhart had unfortunately managed to tag along with Professor Dumbledore, and it was his offer that led to a group of staff and students meeting in the Defense Professor's office while its current occupant hovered around making unsolicited suggestions and boastful claims. After an extensive examination, the Headmaster was able to determine that Mrs. Norris was alive but petrified, a state that apparently acted as a form of suspended animation and could be cured with a potion made from the Mandrakes being grown by Professor Sprout. _How_ this petrification had happened was less clear.

Given the presence of people outside their circle of complete trust, Iruka had quietly informed his students en route to let him take the lead. He fully intended to bring the four of them together with the Headmaster for a more private meeting later.

In his distress over the attack on his cat, Filch had accused Harry of being responsible because he knew the caretaker was a Squib. That revelation certainly explained to Iruka why the man had such a sunny disposition: It couldn't be easy being born to a magical family and living surrounded by magic without being able to use it oneself. Regardless, Iruka promptly refuted that accusation with the fact that Harry and the other three students had been with him the entire evening.

With no more information forthcoming and no further action to be taken, the impromptu meeting broke up as everyone left to retire for the evening. Madam Pomfrey took Mrs. Norris down to the Hospital Wing with her and Iruka walked his students back to their Houses before turning in himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, a Halloween with subtle but potentially far-reaching changes. As pivotal as the scene is to Book 2, it was treading a lot of canon ground (and quoting the book a lot), so I felt that both for pacing and IP reasons it was best to cut to a summary.
> 
> As much as I love Luna as a character and love reading her in other people's stories, I must confess that I tend to find her a bit difficult to write. It's hard for me to really get into her head properly, to make good use of her various 'creatures', and to decide exactly how much unexplainable insight she should show. I can only hope that I'm doing her justice.
> 
> When writing the scene outside Myrtle's bathroom, I obviously referenced that scene in the book quite a bit (as I write, I have whatever book I'm currently working through the plot of sitting beside me so that I can re-read sections as needed). It really struck me reading the canonical description of Draco's reaction just how evil the little bigot was. If you read that scene, it's obvious that he's not just yelling out his announcement to intimidate those of 'lesser blood', but that he's intensely eager and excited for what he thinks is coming. What may be the most intense positive emotion he shows in seven books, and it's in anticipation of the mass murder of children - let that sink in a bit. The only thing that made him redeemable (other than author fiat) was the fact that he was still too young and sheltered to truly grasp what it was he was celebrating and endorsing; that understanding didn't come until Half-Blood Prince, and it was enough of a harsh shock that he no longer wanted anything to do with it. I genuinely believe that if Lucius had done what I see in some fics, and provided Draco with kidnapped Muggles to practice on from an early age and eased him into the violence and horror gradually, he'd have passed the point of no return sometime in his teens.


	6. Secrets

The next morning found Iruka and his four students settling into conjured chairs in the Headmaster's office. All of the children were gazing around the room and its contents with curiosity and awe; Luna had been the only one to accept the customary offer of lemon candy.

"Now that we are all seated," Headmaster Dumbledore began, "I've asked you here to discuss in greater detail the events of last evening. Given the somewhat vague nature of Professor Umino's report, I could only assume that the full story involves some of those facts which we all agree should not yet become common knowledge?"

Iruka nodded. "We were coming back from Sir Nicholas's party when I first sensed a presence, one that was approaching us while putting out a worrying amount of sakki. As it got closer, I began to hear it somewhat, and though the sounds were muffled I'm fairly certain that they were made by a snake or snakelike creature. It was a big one, too, probably at least ten or fifteen meters long. Thankfully we didn't encounter it directly; it sounded as if it were moving inside or behind the wall, somehow."

"Not wanting to leave my students alone with a clearly dangerous creature on the loose," he continued, "I had them join me in following the creature. Eventually we came upon the scene on the second floor, and I sent Flippy to get you after finding that whatever the thing was had withdrawn."

Albus frowned. "I know of no serpentine creature capable of inflicting petrification such as that which now afflicts Mrs. Norris, and few that would know how to write legible words, let alone be physically capable of doing so."

Harry hesitantly raised his hand, only speaking at the Headmaster's nod. "We also know it can talk - does that narrow it down?"

Iruka looked at his student quizzically. "Why do you think it can talk?"

Harry just looked confused. "You said you heard it coming, didn't you hear what it was saying?"

"Harry, I never heard it say anything."

"But... I heard it... It was saying it was hungry, talking about ripping and tearing and killing, then just before we found Mrs. Norris it yelled 'I smell blood!' - didn't you hear any of that?"

Iruka shook his head. "I just heard the sounds of something big sliding, slithering, and hissing. By Professor Dumbledore's expression, though, he might have some ideas." Indeed, the Headmaster looked both thoughtful and deeply troubled.

"Some theories, yes, one of which we may be able to confirm momentarily." Albus rose and retrieved his Pensieve, depositing a small memory strand into it. After a brief explanation of the device's purpose and how to use it (one which clearly left the two young witches present unsatisfied and planning later research), he and Harry dipped their faces into the not-quite-liquid in the basin.

After a few minutes of stillness, they emerged with the same expressions as before. "That was a memory from one of my journeys abroad quite some years ago. The man you saw was an Indian wizard, and despite your insistence that he spoke only English during the memory, I can assure you that it was a very different tongue in which he addressed that cobra." A gasp from Neville and a widening of Luna's eyes showed that they had already understood something that still escaped the half of the room's occupants not raised with magic. "Parseltongue, the language of snakes, is an exceedingly rare magical gift, and one with a most unsavory reputation in Wizarding Britain. That reputation," he spoke towards the two purebloods present, "is largely due to the foul deeds of several particularly notorious Parselmouths, including both Salazar Slytherin and Lord Voldemort." Both purebloods flinched at the name, though not as badly as they might have previously thanks to Iruka's attempts to desensitize them to it.

"Regardless," the Headmaster continued, "there have also been many fine witches and wizards to possess the trait. Paracelsus, the famed alchemist and healer, was a Parselmouth. It is even believed that the Staff of Asclepius may be wound with a serpent because of an ancient Parselmouth healer. Indeed, in nations where venomous snakes are a significant hazard, or where snakes themselves are venerated, Parselmouths are often treated with the utmost respect and reverence for their ability to communicate with the beasts."

"As for how young Mr. Potter came to possess such a talent, I am not certain. It tends to run in families, but I know of no other Potter in recent history who displayed this trait, Lily included. It is possible that, due in part to the protection a young Harry received from his mother, Lord Voldemort's failed attack resulted in the transference of a small sliver of his power, including the ability to speak to snakes. Another theory is that, just as magic may seemingly arise in families that have not previously demonstrated it," here he gestured to Hermione, "so too can magical talents such as Parseltongue, and this might explain Mr. Potter's gift. Alternatively, both could be incorrect and some other, yet unconcieved explanation may be true."

"What we must all remember," he concluded, "is that just as our ability to do magic does not make us better or worse than Muggles or Squibs, neither does the gift of Parseltongue mean that a witch or wizard is dark, or evil, nor inclined or fated to become such. I have every confidence in Mr. Potter's character and integrity, and would hope that you all do as well." This was met with a round of firm nods. "That said, I am not as confident in the likelihood of this being a universally-held view should his gift become commonly known, and would urge you all to do your best to avoid revealing it unnecessarily." Iruka and his students all nodded.

"With that out of the way," the chuunin said, "I have to figure that whatever this was is probably what Dobby was trying to warn us about. Unfortunately, 'big snake monster' isn't much more specific than 'terrible things' and we're still missing a lot of important information. The most important questions I can see are: What is this creature, and what is it capable of? Why is it attacking now, and what is the objective? Are the students in danger, and if so, how can we make them safer?"

The Headmaster nodded. "All excellent questions, though we might make some educated guesses. First, however, I believe that we have imposed on your four students quite long enough for one day, as all of them doubtless have schoolwork needing done. Unless any of you have further insights to offer or questions to ask, I would bid you good morning."

Hermione hesitantly raised her hand at this point. "Ms. Granger?" the Headmaster called on her with an encouraging smile.

"I was just wondering Professor, what is this Chamber of Secrets?"

"Ah, yes," he replied, "I suppose that I'm likely the only one here to be familiar with that particular legend..." What followed was a summary of the legend of Salazar Slytherin's secret chamber and the monster that supposedly lay within, waiting to purge the school of those its creator deemed unworthy of magic. Unfortunately, as there was no recorded proof of said chamber actually existing, nor of where it might be nor what it might contain, it wasn't really much to go on. That explanation complete, the children filed out to continue their weekend after an admonishment to keep the nature and contents of the morning's meeting confidential, aside from perhaps the legend of the Chamber.

"Now that we are alone," Albus picked back up, "I should address your earlier questions. We may presume that the creature is capable of petrifying its victims, and doing so without detectable injury or cause. Its objective may be to eliminate or drive away those students of so-called 'impure' blood, in keeping with the legend of Salazar Slytherin's secret chamber and the so-called monster it contained. As far as danger to the students..." He hesitated, clearly reluctant. "I fear that they may well be in danger. The previous time the Chamber of Secrets was supposedly opened, several students were petrified and one lost her life. I have already instructed the ghosts, portraits, and elves to be watchful for anything out of place, and to urge and guide any wayward student back towards company. If we are fortunate, this will turn out to be an ill-advised prank in extremely poor taste, or failing that will be soon resolved, and I fear the panic that might result should we take further measures without more information."

Iruka frowned. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with such thin precautions around something that has previously killed a student."

"Firstly, we do not know whether this is truly the same as the previous incident," Dumbledore placated, "though it does seem strikingly similar. Secondly, it is unclear whether the petrifications and the death were from the same cause. The prevailing theory prior to your report of hearing a snake or other serpentine creature was that the petrifications were the work of some unknown Dark curse, something made more convincing by the fact that those students who were petrified seemed to be frozen in the midst of normal activity, and reported no memory of the cause upon being revived. This was far more characteristic of a spell than of a creature attack or a potion of some kind. The young lady who died was also unmarked, something those in power disregarded utterly," here he seemed to shoot a brief glare at the portrait of a particularly elderly wizard that was currently napping, "which is more typical of a death by either potion, poison, or Killing Curse, things it is unlikely that a mere beast could manage. Given the fact that the previous series of attacks took place decades ago, and I am the only member of the faculty from that time still in the castle save the late Cuthbert Binns (who is only likely to slay his students through sheer tedium), it would be quite difficult for the same perpetrator to be behind both incidents."

"Do you know who carried out the attacks previously?" Iruka asked.

"Indeed. Although he was successfully able to frame an innocent fellow student for his crimes, it was the young man who would later go on to famously scar our Mr. Potter. Given the haste with which his wraith fled the school in June, I think it hardly likely for him to have returned so quickly, especially as the events of that night likely took a toll on him and will require him to spend time rebuilding his strength. Without the aid of another wizard or witch, he will be hard pressed to do more than simply exist for a long while."

"Harry asked Dobby, who specifically said it wasn't 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'," Iruka chimed in. "It was like the elf was trying to hint at something he couldn't say, but we can't figure out what."

The Headmaster nodded. "Enigmatic, but also something of a relief, as it indicates our culprit is someone else, presumably a witch or wizard of significantly lesser capability than Lord Voldemort. So, did you have any remaining questions to ask or insights or information to share?"

"Just this," Iruka replied, "do we know what those words were written in? It looked like blood, and smelled like blood, but Mrs. Norris wasn't injured. If that was blood, it had to come from somewhere, and more importantly from something or someone. Identifying and maybe tracing the source of the blood or paint (assuming it wasn't just conjured with a spell) might provide a useful clue."

"All we have been able to ascertain is that the words are indeed written in blood, though not the blood of a human being. I have heard references to magics which can track a person or creature by a sample of their blood, but they are generally Dark by nature and uniformly prohibited as Dark magic by the Ministry. Given that I do not personally know any such spells, nor am I aware of any being in either my library or that of Hogwarts, I cannot say how we might make use of them even were we willing to risk the legal repercussions."

"One more question then," Iruka said, "what can you tell me about the previous case where the chamber was supposedly opened?"

Headmaster Dumbledore's face darkened. "It was precisely fifty years ago, in the 1942-43 school year. A significant number of students were petrified, always without leaving witnesses or useful evidence to point to the culprit. Nearing the end of the year, a young Muggle-born witch in Ravenclaw was slain, though as with those petrified there were no signs of violence on or around her remains. It was feared that the school might have to be closed, when a Slytherin prefect pointed the finger of blame solidly at a third-year Gryffindor and his illegal pet acromantula. The young Gryffindor was expelled, and his wand snapped, while the prefect was given a special award for services to the school. However, given that the prefect in question went on to be known as Lord Voldemort, and an acromantula would be incapable of killing without leaving a mark or of petrifying at all, I am quite certain that the wrong party was blamed. The attacks, however, stopped, leaving me with no way to prove the boy's innocence despite my suspicions and reservations. I'm afraid that while I suspected the young Slytherin of being the guilty party, and of other possible wrongdoing, he had thoroughly charmed much of the school's faculty, including both his Head of House and my predecessor as Headmaster." Another harsh glance was thrown towards the same portrait as before. "Thus, despite attacking many of his schoolmates, murdering another, and framing yet another, he went on to be Head Boy in his seventh year."

"While I can certainly understand not wanting to name the victims in that case, including the student framed," Iruka asked, "might I ask why you seem so hesitant to use Voldemort's name?"

Albus sighed. "Lord Voldemort's original name is a secret which both he and I keep, albeit for differing reasons. His name, given by his late mother at his birth, is Tom Marvolo Riddle. I doubt that name means anything to you, and part of the reason for this is that his first and last names are those of his father, a Muggle." Nodding solemnly at the look of naked shock on of his guest's face, he continued. "Tom is actually a so-called half-blood, born of a Muggle father and Pureblood witch mother. Needless to say, given his stated ideology and that of his followers, it would likely erode his support rather significantly if it became known (and actually believed) that he himself was sired by a Muggle. Thus, he conceals his origins."

"However, actually getting Tom's followers to believe the truth would be nearly impossible, making it unlikely to serve as a useful weapon against him. In addition, I fear the effects this information could have if distributed widely: While yes, it might erode support for Tom and his crusade, it could also be used by those who scorn Muggles and any magical descended from them. Can you not picture such people making arguments that it was 'the pollution of pure Wizarding blood' that led to Tom's instability? They would use the revelation of his blood status to push for greater restrictions upon those of Muggle ancestry and upon contact or interaction with Muggles. Thus the truth of Tom's origins, while useful in understanding him, would benefit neither side of the conflict should it be released but might greatly harm those already so disadvantaged in our society."

Iruka nodded. "People will believe what they want to believe, and once a belief is set it's nearly impossible to change. The Death Eaters would dismiss the truth as a lie, while other bigots would just use it to justify and fuel their agenda. Still, I may ask you later for a more detailed history on him; knowing one's enemy makes it easier to predict their actions, after all."

When no further ideas or information were ventured, the meeting broke up, with both present committing to research creatures fitting the information they had while looking out for any other clues (and Iruka promising to ask his students to do the same).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Dumbledore shared a lot more information there than I had expected, intended, or wanted him to. I just couldn't really see a reason or a way for him to keep more to himself, especially with several highly intelligent people asking questions. It certainly makes it a bit harder for me to plausibly write anything but a rapid solution to the mystery.
> 
> My solution? Erroneous conclusions! Dumbledore has concluded (and convinced the others) that Myrtle was killed by Killing Curse, and thus they're looking for something that petrifies. It's not actually a bad assumption, given where they're working from: Originally, the working theory was that it was all the work of a wizard, but now he knows there's a creature involved. Human nature being what it is, particularly Dumbles's, he's going to make the smallest reasonable change to his existing theory that fits the new evidence. A creature that petrifies rather than killing would even be a reasonable theory to fit the legend of the Chamber, since it would allow Slytherin to eliminate the unworthy while allowing him to restore innocent Pureblood students.
> 
> "But why doesn't Dumbledore realize it's a basilisk now?" I hear you ask? First off, basilisks are clearly rare and exotic beasts, not something that readily comes to mind. Second, even thinking along 'creature' lines, he's starting with 'something that petrifies' and then narrowing it down towards snakes. At least for this story, the reason canon!Hermione solved the mystery when none of the adults could was partly that she had more clues (parseltongue, spiders, roosters) and partly that she was starting from the basis that the monster was something serpentine. The adults wouldn't have even considered a basilisk on the headings they were following.
> 
> Again, I try to have even the mistakes made by the characters in my writing make sense to the reader.
> 
> Justifying the lack of visible precautions for students' safety was tough, and in the end it's down to a combination of invisible precautions, incorrect assumptions (Tom's not here so they should be safer), Dumbledore's hubris and optimism (I'm sure we can clear this up before anyone's seriously hurt), and protecting the status quo (the attacker probably wants a panic).
> 
> The reasoning behind keeping Voldemort's background a secret is borrowed primarily from "A Different Halloween" by robst, though I've seen similar fallout/rationale elsewhere I'm sure.


	7. Duelling

A low buzz of excitement ran through the school one snowed-in Friday in December, with the announcement of a newly-formed Duelling Club which would be having its inaugural meeting that evening. The short notice was somewhat odd (not to mention a bit irritating), but Iruka resolved to attend. While his occasional demonstrations and bouts with the Headmaster were helpful, it would be better to at least see a more diverse sample of duelists.

All that went out the window when Justin Finch-Fletchley was found petrified beside a seemingly-insensate Sir Nicholas. Unlike Colin Creevey's petrification, which occurred quietly in the middle of the night, this scene received plenty of attention from students and staff, courtesy of Peeves.

After the two victims of this attack had been moved to the Hospital Wing (Sir Nicholas being pushed along with wind from a conjured fan) and the rest of the students accounted for and sequestered in their Houses, the Headmaster called the entire staff together for an emergency meeting.

"What are we to _do_ Albus?" Pomona Sprout was visibly distraught at the attack on one of her Badgers. "We've more than enough Mandrakes growing, but it'll be months yet before they're fit to use. Now there's two students that'll be missing months of schooling, and missing holidays with their families, and we've still no idea what's _causing_ all this!"

"It's not precisely _no_ idea, Pomona," Dumbledore replied with a serious expression and a placating tone, "but what we do have is still too vague to be acted upon in any meaningful fashion. The fact that the perpetrator of these attacks was somehow able to affect Sir Nicholas in such a way is, I must admit, both troubling and perplexing. I myself can think of nothing capable of such a result, though I would ask if any of you might have knowledge of any similar incidents."

"Well, there was that time while I was hunting the Wagga Wagga Werewolf..." Lockhart launched into a long and florid anecdote that even Iruka, with his limited knowledge of magic, found difficult to believe. From the looks on his fellow Professors' faces, he wasn't the only one, with Professors Snape and Sprout looking particularly irritated at the pompous blowhard.

"Indeed, thank you for that Gilderoy, I shall be sure to look into that possibility." Lockhart preened at the Headmaster's praise that only barely avoided sounding shamelessly insincere. "I would ask all of you to continue to do your utmost to look out for the students, and to come to me immediately should you think of anything else or discover any new information. I believe that it would be best to cancel both classes and activities for the remainder of the day," at this the Defense Professor deflated, "and other than that do our best to move things along until the Express departs for the holidays. I think it most unlikely that our perpetrator would dare attack with most of the students out of the castle, as it would greatly narrow the likely suspects and thus put them at significantly increased risk of discovery. Unless circumstances change or new information comes to light, we can only maintain our vigilance and continue our investigations. Now, unless anyone has any further business?"

Hagrid timidly raised a hand. "I could use permission an' a bit o' help wardin' the chicken coops. Summat's been gettin' in, killed two roosters this term."

"Of course, Hagrid, by all means. Would you be available, Filius?" At the small Professor's nod, Dumbledore smiled slightly. "Thank you. I fear I shall continue to be particularly occupied for the forseeable future." Now he addressed the room: "Anything else? No? Then I bid you all a good afternoon."

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**V**

The students were very much on edge the next morning, and far more were soon confirmed as going home (or at least leaving the castle) for the holidays than had been the day before.

Iruka trudged his way out to Hagrid's hut at the first opportunity. Something had been nagging at his mind: Were the dead roosters the gamekeeper mentioned unusual? If they were a frequent occurrence, he would probably have already gotten his chicken coops warded. If they were out of the ordinary, then the possibility had to be explored that they might be connected somehow to the attacks.

"Professor Umino!" The large man waved cheerfully as his visitor approached. "What brings yeh out here in this weather?"

"Just a couple of questions about something that occurred to me," the chuunin responded, "you mentioned yesterday that two of your roosters have been killed this term. How often does something like that happen?"

Hagrid scratched his head. "Not too often. Every few years, summat gets into the chickens and kills a couple. 'S a bit odd, though, never had two times in one term. Roosters're a bit better at protectin' themselves than hens, too, so most things'd go after hens ter be safer. An' whatever it was, it didn' eat one bite from either rooster, just drained the blood, so best guess is tha' it's a Blood-Sucking Bugbear doin' it."

Iruka's suspicions shot through the roof. "And when were the roosters killed, anyway?"

"Well," the gamekeeper replied, "the most recent one I jus' found yesterday, so it must've been the nigh' before. Firs' one died on Halloween, an' o' course I forgot what with all the mess that evenin'." Hagrid looked particularly disturbed at the oblique reference to the attack on Mrs. Norris.

"Thank you, Hagrid," Iruka said, "that clears things up a bit for me."

"Anytime, Professor. Give Harry and the others my best, would yeh?"

"Of course. Enjoy your holidays!"

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**V**

Soon thereafter, Iruka was once again in the Headmaster's office, recounting the information he'd learned on his trip to the gamekeeper's hut.

"Most intriguing," Dumbledore mused while stroking his beard, "I quite agree that the timing of the first rooster's death, and its exsanguination, seem rather unlikely to be mere coincidence as they relate to our current trouble. It strikes me as most probable that whoever is behind the attacks within the castle also killed Hagrid's roosters. I would have expected, in that light, to see another message following the petrification of Mr. Finch-Fletchley and the incapacitation of Sir Nicholas, and yet no such message has thus far appeared."

"I suspect that a second message will appear," Albus continued, "however perfunctory it may be. Regardless, we would seem to have found another clue, though it seems thus far to have only answered an incidental question. Still, I shall ask Filius to place a number of monitoring spells around Hagrid's chicken coops - if chance favors us we might be able to identify the perpetrator should they require yet more blood."

Iruka departed again after assuring his employer that S.E.N. would be apprised of the latest development.

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All four student members of S.E.N. departed on the Hogwarts Express for winter holidays. In one of their private sessions, Harry had expressed to Iruka his excitement at getting to experience a family Christmas celebration as a participant rather than as a spectator and domestic servant. For his part, the chuunin simply daydreamed about introducing Vernon and Petunia Dursley to Mitarashi Anko.

As in previous years, Iruka joined in with the Lovegood family's festivities. Unlike the previous years, he and his four students (along with both sets of available parents) were gathered together at Longbottom Hall for that family's annual New Years Eve Ball. Both Granger parents had spent much of the evening wide-eyed at the copious and often casual displays of magic, from the decorations and foodstuffs to the house-elves. Some of the other attendees had given the Grangers (and to a lesser degree Harry) sour looks and/or made pointed comments aimed at their Muggle outfits, but Augusta Longbottom often politely but firmly rebuked those she caught exhibiting such behavior.

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**V**

Term resumed, and on nearly the first evening not already significantly occupied by other activities, the postponed Duelling Club finally met.

Upon arriving, Iruka naturally gravitated towards where S.E.N. had gathered, joining their speculation about exactly what the Club would entail and who might be running it. The Duelling Club was being held in the Great Hall to accommodate the large number of interested pupils; the House Tables had been removed, and in their place was a duelling stage - a long rectangular platform, about a meter and a half across by ten meters long, and elevated by about a meter to let participants be clearly seen by all in the room while allowing most stray spells to fly harmlessly over the spectators' heads.

Much to the chuunin's dismay (and that of three of his students) it turned out that the Club was being run by Gilderoy Lockhart, though the inclusion of Severus Snape as an assistant at least provided a bit of hope that there might be some useful information at some point.

Quite a few of the wizards in the room, Iruka included, took a great deal of satisfaction and amusement watching Lockhart blasted across the room. This quickly turned to frustrated exasperation when the pompous idiot simply had all the children in the room pair off and begin duelling. After calming the chaos that promptly erupted (with Iruka's help), Lockhart then suggested a single match on the stage, choosing Neville and pitting him against Draco Malfoy. Snape's animosity towards the young Longbottom was plain as day, and Iruka could clearly see him fighting to hold back some sort of acid remark.

In a less-than-promising start, Malfoy jumped the count, casting a Pimple Jinx before the match had officially begun. Neville was unfazed, however, and casually dodged the incoming spell before responding with a Tongue-Tying Hex. Actually, he _tried_ to; only a faint spark came out of the young Gryffindor's wand, guttering out before it had crossed even half the distance to the Malfoy scion. A vicious smirk crossed the pale boy's face at that point, and several more times he cast unpleasant but entirely permissible spells which were dodged and replied to with weak or failed spells by Neville. Mutters (some sympathetic, some derisive) and titters became increasingly common and loud among the spectators at each of the Longbottom heir's attempts to cast.

After three more exchanges, Malfoy placed his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest. "Come on, Longbottom," he drawled with a sneer, "I don't know why you even bother. It's not like everyone didn't already know that you're practically a squib. Pathetic, really, to see such a once-proud old family reduced to this..."

Neville's face had, as the taunt progressed, grown progressively stormier before shifting to a look of intense focus. He cut off the Slytherin's insults with a firmly-shouted " **Expelliarmus!** "

For the second time in one evening, the audience was treated to the sight of an until-that-point-perfectly-groomed blonde nitwit pinwheeling through the air in the opposite direction from his wand.

While Snape looked nearly ready to commit homicide, Lockhart was beaming. "Spectacular! Well done, Mister Longbottom, well done indeed. And Mister Malfoy, some excellent spellwork by you as well; do come back up here for a moment." The pale boy climbed somewhat dizzily back onto the stage, where Neville handed his wand back with polite (if clearly frosty) formality. "Let's have a hand for our first two duellists!" The Club's sponsor stood grinning between the two boys and basked in the applause that was directed at least close to him.

After dismissing Neville and Malfoy, Lockhart moved on to pairs from successively higher years. While it was entertaining, the actual educational content was fairly lacking; at the current rate, most of the students would be lucky to duel even a handful of times before the end of the year. After the seventh-year duel finished, Lockhart dismissed the Club for the evening. Speaking among themselves, S.E.N. concluded that they'd attend one more meeting, but stop after that if things didn't improve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those of you who are spectacularly observant and/or pedantic might have noticed that December 17, 1992 (the official date of Lockhart's only Duelling Club meeting) was a Thursday. I am aware of this, but decided that Lockhart is just smart enough to recognize that there's already an activity on those evenings that could draw away potential fans members, including the Boy-Who-Lived. Thus, he bumps it back one evening. That puts it several hours after Justin was attacked in canon, which I only realized after writing the entire Duelling Club scene. The original version of that scene has ended up with the rest of my outtakes and deleted scenes.
> 
> So yeah, Harry wasn't revealed as a parselmouth. Different circumstances, different results. There was really no practical way to show this in-story (at least not without being ham-fisted about the whole thing) but Lockhart's choice of duellists was no accident: Lucius heard about the Duelling Club from Draco over winter hols, and (whether directly or through Snape) suggested that particular matchup to Lockhart. He actually suggested that or Draco vs. Harry, but Lockhart has gotten the message that Harry prefers to avoid the spotlight, and is savvy enough on such matters to not piss off someone so potentially useful. As far as why those particular matches were suggested, there were a few factors: A poor showing by Neville and/or Harry would weaken their social/political standing and that of their family/allies; Neville makes an easy opponent and thus (in the logic of bullies) a good opportunity to show off strength and power; an official duel gives Draco license to cast painful and/or humiliating spells on his chosen victim without consequences. Lucius also took the opportunity afforded by advance warning to drill Draco in some suitable spells, and that combined with a desire to humiliate a perceived 'helpless' victim are why Draco didn't immediately jump to a showy spell like Serpensortia - it's his big showboating finish, and his plan was to gradually load Neville up with unpleasant but not disabling hexes for a while before finally finishing the match. That worked out so well for him, didn't it?
> 
> The duel shows that Neville is ahead of where he was in canon - confident, focused, and coordinated enough to dodge relatively imprecise spellfire - but still has a long way to go. His biggest obstacle is still his father's wand: It belonged to an Auror, a warrior of light, and that doesn't align well with Neville's more peaceful nature (I'm borrowing that from a one-shot whose title I can't recall at the moment). For that last spell, Neville is concentrating hard, focusing his will and intent, which ends up combining with the wand actually agreeing with him for a change and his naturally high power level to massively overpower the Disarming spell. When he's not casting in the kind of hurry that a duel tends to require, he's better at getting at least some results from the wand than in this scene or this point in the canon, because he has time to gather his focus better.


	8. Threads

Things remained relatively quiet for the next several weeks. A slight aura of nervousness still pervaded the castle, but for the most part everyone continued to go about their usual business. As Iruka and his students had expected, the Duelling Club's second meeting had been not more helpful than the first, and all had ended up deciding that it wasn't worth their time to attend further. In their training, all four children were making continued progress: They'd learned the basics of safely handling, carrying, storing, and maintaining shuriken and kunai, and begun including armed kata in their repertoire (holding blunt training weapons, of course). Iruka hoped to have them throwing shuriken by late March, and actually hitting targets somewhat reliably by November or December. Their physical and chakra training continued to progress as well.

It was the day after Luna's birthday party in the Room when the next oddity arose, and it truly was odd even by Hogwarts standards. Iruka had once glanced, during a visit to Hogsmeade, into Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, having heard various mentions of it among staff and students. The Hogwarts Great Hall, on the morning of the fourteenth, looked like Maito Gai had heard an exaggerated description of that establishment and decided to copy it while feeling particularly YOUTHful. Between the pink, the heart-shaped confetti, the pink, the flowers, and the pink, it made the word "gaudy" feel inadequate. A quick glance along the staff table made it abundantly clear whose idea the whole mess was, to Iruka's utter lack of surprise.

Gilderoy Lockhart sat there, grinning like a loon and wearing robes so eye-meltingly pink as to make the decorations in the Great Hall look tame by comparison. From the expressions on his colleagues' faces, it was clear that Iruka wasn't the only staff member less than impressed with the buffoon's efforts. While Iruka at least passably understood the playful romance-themed holiday being celebrated, he wasn't at all certain he liked an adult teacher bragging so publicly about how many cards he'd received from his mostly-underage students. And then he called in his 'Cupids'...

Where was a Yamanaka memory specialist when you really, desperately needed to forget something _right now_?!

Then, of course, the pink-clad peacock dragged Snape and Filius into his insanity, leaving the latter mortified and the former clearly contemplating what potions ingredients he could render the Defense Professor into.

The dwarves had all been ejected from the castle (after ensuring that Lockhart paid them everything they were owed) after an incident involving one of them being so determined to deliver someone's singing Valentine to Harry that he made the mistake of grabbing the second-year. Eighteen months earlier, this would have resulted in desperate but ultimately futile struggling by the young Gryffindor, but Iruka's lessons (and a potions regimen and proper diet on Madam Pomfrey's orders) had left Harry in greatly improved physical shape. The training on how to deal with an attacker trying to tackle you also helped.

Harry's bookbag had been torn asunder after the dwarf grabbed it in his attempts to keep Harry in place. When the young wizard had again tried to make his escape, the dwarf opted for a leg-tackle, and ended up eating floorstone for his troubles. Standing beside the ruins of his school supplies and a concussed diaper-clad dwarf, Harry had turned to a Prefect present and made a complaint of being assaulted. This was hard to refute given that the Prefect in question (Percy Weasley, as it happened) had witnessed the altercation along with a number of other students. After the dwarves were rounded up, paid, and given the boot, Lockhart had been given a stern lecture by Minerva, the school's resident expert on all things stern, regarding proper protocols for bringing visitors to the castle, harassment of the students, and quite a few other things that crossed her mind as she went on. It was very impressive, and continued for over ten minutes as Iruka (and some other members of staff) surreptitiously took notes.

To top it all off, Lockhart was also made to pay to replace Harry's ruined items. Needless to say despite how well it started for him, the DADA teacher did _not_ have a happy Valentine's Day.

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The next few weeks were not the most pleasant for Harry. His somewhat violent takedown of the dwarf (really quite gentle, by shinobi standards) had grown in its retellings through the Hogwarts rumor mill, as tends to happen. While a portion of those who witnessed or heard about the incident recognized that Harry was merely defending himself as best he knew how, teenagers and preteens aren't exactly known for their level-headedness or critical thinking skills. Many students now apparently believed that he had, in order to interrupt a singing Valentine, savagely beaten a perfectly innocent dwarf to death. Some of his schoolmates, particularly a group of second-year Hufflepuffs, had taken to avoiding Harry whenever possible, or at least giving him a wide berth in the corridors. A few had even begun to speculate that _he_ was the Heir of Slytherin. The Weasley twins, always sharper than most adults gave them credit for, had quickly taken to preceding Harry down the halls, often calling out things like "Make way for Harry Potter, vanquisher of ill-tempered Cupids!" and "Beware the approach of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Serenaded!" It helped to both lighten Harry's spirits and cause a few of the less-committed Harry-fearers to realize the absurdity of what they had been led to believe.

Iruka adjusted the taijutsu portion of his lessons in response to the whole mess: Due to the looming threat of the Heir of Slytherin, he'd been focusing on techniques for defending against a lethal threat, techniques that tended to be on the more violent and damaging side. He now began putting more emphasis back on techniques suited to less severe encounters, and on providing his students with a proper continuum of force to work with. Hopefully, the next time a non-threatening person tried to tackle one of them, they'd be able to deflect and restrain their attacker without causing serious injury.

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**V**

As Easter Break approached, the three second-year members of S.E.N. were considering their choice of electives for the coming years. Neville had received letters from virtually every member of his extended family giving their (often conflicting) advice on which subjects were best to take and why. Hermione, even with her academic mania calmed somewhat, was still talking about finding a way to take all five courses. Harry was just plain lost. None of them, it turned out, were particularly clear on what each elective entailed and what careers each might be useful in.

"Enter!" Minerva's voice rang out in response to Iruka's knock, and enter he did, followed by his students. "Good afternoon," she greeted with a slight smile, "Iruka, children. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"Well," the chuunin replied, gesturing to the second-years, "these three were talking about things, and asking for my advice, and I found that I simply don't know enough to really help them, so I figured you'd be the best person to speak to. Luna came along because they're all friends, and it's information she'll need eventually anyway."

The older witch nodded, and with a wave of her wand conjured additional chairs; unlike the overstuffed armchairs the Headmaster favored, his Deputy provided simple, utilitarian wooden chairs with high backs and surprisingly comfortable seats. "Please, sit." They did. "Now, what is it you were discussing that you required additional information on?"

"Well," Harry chimed in, "we were talking about picking our electives for next year. Hermione wants to take all of them, Neville's got loads of letters from his family saying what he should and shouldn't take, and I'm just confused about what the classes are really about and what they're used for."

"I tried to help," Iruka continued, "but I'm still new enough to this country to not really have the complete picture, so to speak."

"I see," Minerva replied thoughtfully, "and it's likely that some of the other second-year Gryffindors have similar questions. I shall have to make it clear to them that I am available to answer their questions on the subject."

"As you are aware," she continued, "there are five electives available beginning in Third Year, of which all students are required to take a minimum of two."

"The Study of Ancient Runes is, in earlier years, primarily a language course. Students learn to decipher various runic languages, and to scribe and engrave runes themselves. In its later years the class begins to cover the usage of runes in magic, a topic not entirely dissimilar to the 'seals' you are all familiar with. Runes are primarily used in the creation and anchoring of long-term and permanent magical effects upon objects and locations. A thorough grounding in Runes is therefore essential for any profession involving the creation of such effects, such as warders and enchanters, or the dismantling of existing effects by cursebreakers and the like."

"Arithmancy begins with basic numerology, the study of the magical properties of numbers and how they interact with each other and with magic and the world. At more advanced levels, the course covers the calculations involved in understanding magical effects. These calculations are essential in the crafting of new spells and potions, and in analyzing existing magics. Aspiring warders, enchanters, and cursebreakers again will find this field essential, but so will spellcrafters, Potions masters, and others that seek to research magic and its many mysteries."

"Care of Magical Creatures is essentially a counterpart to Herbology. In it, students learn about many forms of magical fauna, though some creatures are discussed more in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Obviously, anyone who might wish to work with magical beasts of any sort would be well-advised to take this class. This not only includes the more apparent careers, such as dragon-handling or magizoology, but also wandmaking and others that utilize parts or products from magical creatures. A Potions master would thus benefit from such knowledge, as would a master Herbologist." At this last point, she looked meaningfully at Neville, whose expression showed that he clearly understood the message and would likely be signing up for Care as an elective.

"I must confess to being somewhat biased regarding the subject of Divination," Minerva continued hesitantly, "as I have never seen any convincing evidence of its validity. There are, supposedly, seers and prophets, but those with such gifts are by all accounts extraordinarily rare. Without the necessary innate talent, I fear that Divination is not a subject which can be readily taught, and I have always found it something of a wooly subject to be perfectly frank. Obviously, if any of you _did_ have the Sight, then training to make best use of it could be beneficial to you, but without that I cannot honestly recommend the class."

"Muggle Studies is a course intended for those raised entirely in the Wizarding world, to help them better understand our nonmagical neighbors. At least in theory, sufficient study should help students of the subject to pass as Muggles without arousing suspicion, and to function in their society without a reliance on Confundus Charms and Memory Charms. Given that two of the three of you are Muggle-raised, I don't see the class being of any real use to you, although Mister Longbottom might benefit from it, particularly with you to advise him. Alternatively, you could simply teach him about Muggle life yourselves, a sort of self-study if you will, and any or all of you could still sign up to take the O.W.L. and possibly N.E.W.T. exams in the subject in a few years."

Iruka broke in at this point. "From what I've heard, it seems like the current Muggle Studies curriculum may be more than a little outdated. The nonmagical world changes very rapidly, but to my knowledge the textbook is at this point decades old."

Minerva looked somewhat sheepish, though she made a good effort at concealing that expression. "I am afraid that certain... _political interests_ with influence in both the Ministry and the Board of Governors consider Muggles unimportant and have for quite some time been blocking attempts to modernize the Muggle Studies curriculum. Thankfully, the Wizarding Examinations Authority enjoys a considerable degree of independence, and while they will give passing grades to those whose knowledge of Muggles comes solely from the course materials, the examiners for the Muggle Studies O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. are aware of more accurate and up-to-date information and will mark accordingly."

Hermione looked less than pleased, but firmed her resolve. "I'd still like to take the courses, Professor," she stated. "Even if I don't have the Sight, or the Gift, or whatever it is, it would still be interesting to learn _about_ Divination, and while I obviously don't need to learn about Muggle life, taking the class could teach me about Wizarding perspectives on the Muggle world."

The Gryffindor Head looked upon her star pupil with a fond smile and a quiet exasperated sigh. "Given your exemplary academic record thus far, I will permit you to make the attempt on a trial basis. Actually scheduling such a courseload alongside your existing classwork and extracurricular activities may prove difficult, however. There is a solution that is employed on the rare occasions where it is necessary, though I shall have to speak with the Headmaster before promising its use."

With that, Hermione eagerly signed up for all five electives, while Harry and Neville each ended up selecting Runes, Arithmancy, and Care. They had both, after some discussion, decided upon the classes they felt would be most useful and give them the most options in the coming years.

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It was the next day that Iruka received a message via 'House-Elf Express' that Luna had found something he needed to see. He was soon approaching a group of windows in a second-floor corridor, his youngest student standing nearby like a somewhat surprised-looking signpost. "You said you'd found something, Luna?"

She nodded. "Yes, Iruka-sensei, you and the Headmaster told us to watch for anything out of the ordinary, and I'm rather certain that spiders don't ordinarily behave like that." She pointed towards the corner of the far window.

Looking closely, Iruka could indeed see a remarkably orderly line of spiders quickly making their way up to and out through the open window, even seeming to use an anchored line of silk to abseil down the castle wall. Given the presence of several different varieties of spider, and the fact that spiders were generally known to be solitary to the point of cannibalism even within their own species, this phenomenon definitely qualified as odd. Flippy was soon on her way to summon Headmaster Dumbledore.

"Most unusual," the elder wizard commented at the sight, "this is indeed most extraordinary behavior. I shall speak with Hagrid and Professor Kettleburn directly, to see if they may shed some light on the cause, but for now we may consider this a possible clue. Well done, Miss Lovegood, well done indeed. Ten points to Ravenclaw for your keen observational skills."

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A brief meeting with the whole of S.E.N. followed in the Headmaster's office. The news of the spiders was shared, drawing a comment from Hermione that it tickled at her memory somewhat, but she'd need to look over her notes and sources to figure out if it was something relevant.

This led the four students and one ninja to head to Gryffindor Tower. Iruka and Luna stood outside waiting while Hermione checked her accumulated research notes. After about fifteen minutes, the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open once again to disgorge the trio of second-years, mid-conversation.

"...figure out who's attacking people, and get them out of the castle for good." Harry's voice was firm, bold, and reassuring.

"Any luck?" Iruka asked.

The three Gryffindors shook their heads. "I've got a few ideas," Hermione replied, "but they're more along the lines of which books we need to check again. We need to head to the Library."

Down the five trooped, ensconcing themselves at Hermione's favorite table as the bushy-haired witch pulled books off the shelves and distributed them among the group along with advice regarding where to look and for what. Half an hour passed in near silence, with only the rustling of pages and the occasional soft mutter the only sound, before Neville's voice echoed through the Library with a string of words that would likely have drawn a sharp rebuke from his grandmother.

Waving off an incensed librarian, Iruka turned to his now chalk-white student. "You have something, Neville?"

"I hope not, Sensei, I really, _really_ hope not." The boy turned the book and pushed it forward for them all to read the passage he was indicating with a shaky finger:

 

 

> 'Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it.'

"A snake, capable of killing instantly, that scares spiders and can be killed by a rooster." Neville's composure was still cracked, but he had pulled himself together as the rest read. "It matches too well to be a coincidence. The big things this doesn't explain are where it's coming from, who's controlling it, how it's getting around the castle, and how the petrifications factor in." They all descended into quiet thought.

"Pipes!" Hermione said suddenly. "Sensei, you and Harry heard it _in_ the walls, right?" Both nodded. "Maybe it's slithering through the plumbing! That'd let it get around the school without being seen. Assuming there are hidden exits, it could even pop up somewhere to attack." The silence following this statement was significantly more worried.

Harry was the next to provide an insight. "The petrifications... What if that's what happens if you see its eyes, but not _directly_? Mrs. Norris could have seen its reflection in the water pooled outside the toilet, Colin through his camera, Justin through Nearly-Headless Nick who got the full blast of it but couldn't exactly die _again_ , and the previous time would be reflections off the lake, the window, and the mirror the girl was checking her makeup in."

Iruka's eyebrows rose. "That makes sense. The indirect viewing must filter or weaken the gaze somehow, not enough to make it harmless but enough to petrify. Then, once the victim is petrified, they can't see anything so the gaze can't affect them further. Good thinking Harry, Hermione, and good find, Neville. Flippy!" The elf popped in. "Go to Headmaster Dumbledore immediately, and inform him that we think we know what is responsible for the student petrifications, and we'll meet him in his office directly unless told otherwise."

Flippy nodded somewhat fearfully and departed on her errand as Iruka and his students quickly tidied their workspace and made for the Headmaster's Office. They had gotten as far as the Library doors when Headmaster Dumbledore's voice echoed throughout the castle. "ALL STUDENTS AND FACULTY, ASSEMBLE IN THE GREAT HALL IMMEDIATELY."

A look passed among the group as they turned towards the Great Hall. "There must have been another attack," Hermione said with growing trepidation, "but something must be different this time. You don't think..."

Iruka's face took on a stony cast. "If someone has killed a student, I promise that it is the _last_ mistake they are ever going to make."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's going on? I'm sure most of you can guess, but still, cliffhangers are a tradition in Iruka's home setting. So, the pieces are coming together and our heroes are beginning to see the picture, but they don't know everything yet. I wanted to make sure that all of them got to contribute in some important way, which is why Iruka noted the importance of the roosters, Luna spotted the spiders, Hermione directed the research and later realized the Basilisk's use of plumbing, Neville identified the monster, and Harry figured out the petrifications.
> 
> The key factors in how nobody figured out until now that it was a Basilisk are: They didn't have confirmation that there even was a monster; they didn't know it was serpentine (even if they should have suspected); they were looking for something that petrified rather than something that instantly killed; they may well not have had the clues of the dead roosters and/or fleeing spiders. Maybe if Dippet and the Ministry hadn't been happy to blame the whole mess on Hagrid and Aragog and treat it as a problem solved, deeper inquiry might have produced some results.


	9. Chamber

As the five arrived at the Great Hall, they met Headmaster Dumbledore and the four Heads of House. Filius looked upon Luna with relief, while Minerva's expression upon seeing the group was a strange mix of relief and pained resignation. Pomona simply looked worried, and Snape's dark expression was unreadable. Albus turned to the approaching group, his face a stony mask that softened somewhat at the sight of them. "Iruka, children, it is good to see that you are all well. Unfortunately, we have a most dire situation. Pomona, Minerva," he turned to the Heads of House, "remain here with the students, and once we have departed you must close off every entrance. _Do not_ open them again to anyone that is unable to send a Patronus message requesting entry. I cannot stress that instruction enough; the lives of every student in that Hall may well depend upon it." The two witches nodded with resolve, and stepped into the Great Hall.

"The rest of you," he continued in a tone of command, "come with me, and I shall show you the site of the latest incident. I shall endeavor to explain as we walk, but we must hurry, for I fear that time is of the essence and that a young girl's life hangs in the balance."

"Headmaster," Snape drawled coldly, "I must protest. Students have no place in these discussions."

Already striding towards the stairs fast enough that Filius had to jog to keep up, Albus spoke over his shoulder without slowing. "And yet, Severus, it was these students who are reported to have determined the identity of Slytherin's legendary monster, something which perhaps they might share with us?"

Iruka took the lead, relating their conclusion and the evidence and reasoning that led to it in the clear, rapid tones of a battlefield report. The three other wizards looked thoughtful. "I cannot find fault with your conclusions," Snape bit out with a scowl that betrayed just how unhappy he was with that fact.

"Indeed," Albus added, "it explains a great deal which was previously unclear. Unfortunately, it also makes the situation even more dangerous than I had feared." He brought his wand tip to his temple for a moment, before drawing it away trailing what looked like a particularly wispy memory and incanting " **Expecto Patronum Lotor**!". A luminous silver phoenix shot from the wand back down the corridor towards the Great Hall. "Minerva and the others should now be forewarned, for whatever good that may do against such a monstrous enemy. As for our part of the report, another message has been found near the previous one, and based on a headcount of the students, we can only conclude that it refers to Ginevra Weasley." This produced a gasp of horror from Luna. "I have tasked young Percival to pen a letter to his parents, and an elf to carry it. Amelia Bones of the DMLE has also been notified, and will hopefully be gathering Aurors as we speak."

Soon they reached the corridor outside the girls' toilet occupied by 'Moaning' Myrtle. Just below the original message was a new one, also scrawled in blood: "Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever."

"Ginny..." Luna whimpered tearfully. Iruka placed a firm hand on her shoulder, giving what little reassurance he could offer.

Neville, meanwhile, was wearing a thoughtful frown. "Headmaster," he spoke up, "the girl that was killed last time - was it Myrtle?"

Albus nodded somberly. "It was indeed Ms. Warren. She was found in this washroom, just beyond the stall which she haunts to this day."

The two boys looked at each other, seeming to reach the same conclusion. "Three of the incidents right here, the Basilisk using the pipes," Harry listed off, "could the entrance to the Chamber be in the bathroom somewhere?"

The adults' eyebrows rose in near-unison. "An interesting question, Mr. Potter," stated Filius, "and one which we should investigate immediately. You children remain out here, for the moment, until we have confirmed that the room is presently safe." He nodded to Snape, and the two approached the door with wands drawn. A quick charm snapped the door open suddenly, and the two wizards surged inside, swiftly and efficiently sweeping the room for threats while ignoring the indignant protests of the late Myrtle Warren.

"You shouldn't be in here, this is a _girls'_ washroom!" Her scolding came in a voice that sounded lugubrious and slightly damp. "Of course, nobody ever cares about poor, lonely Myrtle, except when they're teasing me or throwing books at me. Even that little red-headed girl just ignored me when I tried to talk to her, just hissed."

"Ginny!" the children exclaimed together.

"She hissed?" Harry asked urgently, "Where? What happened?"

"Don't know," Myrtle replied morosely, "when she ignored me I went back to my stall, then I heard that _hissing_ sound like that boy just before I died, and the next time I came out she'd gone."

"It's in here." Harry's voice was resolute. "It's in here, and it must take Parseltongue to open." This prompted the group to begin searching, until Filius called their attention to a small, nearly unnoticeable engraving of a snake on the side of a non-functional tap.

"It would seem that a rescue mission is not entirely impossible," said the Headmaster. "Iruka, Harry, I shall want you to assist me. Severus, Filius, take the rest of the children back to the Great Hall."

While Snape looked indignant over something, Filius cut in sharply. "That won't do, Albus. You'd be best placed in the Great Hall, in case the Basilisk is brought out again to threaten the student body. Your duty is to _all_ of the students, and I cannot permit you to place hundreds of them in greater danger for the sake of one. If a rescue must be attempted, then it should be Severus and/or myself rather than you. I am also uncertain of why you require Mr. Potter or Professor Umino to participate, though I have my suspicions."

Albus seemed to age twenty years in as many seconds at Filius's words. "You are of course correct, Filius. In that case, it would be best if you accompanied Iruka and Harry on this task - Iruka would have an easier time carrying you than Severus should an expeditious retreat become necessary. As for why the two of them, such are their secrets to divulge and not mine, though you will doubtless learn of some of them today. Come, Severus, children, we have tarried long enough as it is."

As the five left, the three students throwing worried looks back as they went, Filius turned to Harry. "I presume, Mister Potter, that you are a Parselmouth?" At Harry's surprised nod, he continued. "Then please, see if you can gain us entry."

Harry turned to the tap with a look of concentration, before a viscerally unsettling hiss came from his mouth. The tap flashed white, and the entire sink began to spin, before sink _ing_ downwards to reveal a gaping pipe well over a meter across.

Iruka, meanwhile, had shucked his robes and begun unsealing and donning his equipment under the curious gaze of the Charms Professor in between the diminutive man's glances towards Harry and the sink. A few Sticking Charms took the place of the cloth wraps that normally secured certain items and shaved several minutes off the process. Finally, he stood and pulled out two kunai. "We should all have as many tools as possible," he stated, holding them out pommel-first. "Filius, could you transfigure a couple of sheaths for the two of you?

The Ravenclaw Head pulled a scrap of parchment from his pocket, which soon became a simple leather sheath stuck to Harry's hip, before waving off the second kunai and pulling an ornate but still clearly functional dagger from his own robes. "I am part goblin, my dear Professor; I _always_ carry a blade."

Iruka nodded while Harry sheathed the blade he'd been handed. "You should know that I fight mostly with bladed weapons and close combat, though I do have other abilities. I'm also faster, more agile, and more mobile than most people, which is probably why I'm being sent along. I'll go down first, then call up for you two. We'll need Harry to come with us in case there are more Parseltongue-locked doors, or in case this one closes behind us." Once Filius nodded, the chuunin drew and lit his wand, stepped into the pipe, and dropped away.

The pipe quickly turned from near-vertical to a more manageable slope, though Iruka remained ready to halt his slide with chakra if the need arose. He kept his wand out in his left hand, shining its beam ahead of him to give at least some warning of any upcoming hazards. Thankfully, though many smaller pipes branched off at various points, it was a smooth (if somewhat disorienting) journey. Finally, after what felt like a descent of dozens of meters, the steep slope came nearly level, before Iruka shot out into open air. He easily landed in a graceful crouch in a dark, roughly-carved stone tunnel. A quick scan of his surroundings showed no immediate threats, and so he called up as loudly as he dared. "It's clear!" While he waited, he busied himself casting a quick Cushioning Charm over the 'landing area'. Soon enough, Harry emerged, rolling his landing thanks to his training in S.E.N., followed twenty seconds later by Filius who performed a surprisingly similar and agile roll.

After checking to make sure everyone was unharmed, the three set off down the tunnel still in the order Iruka-Harry-Filius, with the admonishment to close their eyes at the first sign of trouble. Iruka quickly did a couple small hops and a walk onto the wall and ceiling to give Filius some idea of his capabilities, and he knew that if they made it back alive the Ravenclaw Head would be as enthusiastic for more information as Hermione had been.

Soon, they began to see increasing numbers of small animal bones littering the floor of the tunnel. They picked their way through carefully, occasionally aided by small Banishing or Vanishing spells to allow them to find footing that wouldn't announce them with a loud crunch. Rounding one bend in the tunnel brought them to a shed skin in a poisonous green. "What do you think, Filius - six, maybe seven meters?"

"At least," the Charms Master quietly replied, "and remember that snakes shed their skins when they outgrow them, so it can only be _larger_ than this. Also, while I may be the one most affected by this issue, I should remind you both that Basilisks are tremendously resistant to magic, not unlike dragons. Their skin is also tough, though not quite as tough as dragonhide, so physical attack will be difficult as well."

"This is a rescue mission," Iruka reminded them both, "so actually fighting that Basilisk is _not_ our objective. I'll be happiest if we can get in, get Ms. Weasley, and get back out without anybody doing any fighting. I'm just not optimistic that we'll get that lucky."

Another later bend in the tunnel revealed what almost seemed a dead end: A solid wall of stone blocked the way forward, adorned with a pair of carved snakes wound around each other with sparkling emeralds inset as their eyes. Harry hissed at this wall, causing the snakes to animate and slither apart on the stone, before the wall parted in the middle and slid aside to open the passage onward.

Just past the barrier, the tunnel opened out into a cavernous chamber stretching both forward and upward beyond the dim, sickly green light of torches burning with heatless and smokeless magical flames. Its high ceiling (wherever it was up there) was supported by tall pillars carved with a motif of winding snakes. The three rescuers advanced cautiously, sticking near the pillars in case they found themselves suddenly in need of cover. This proximity only highlighted the skill with which the pillars had been carved, as the snakes looked very lifelike, their eyes seeming to follow the trio and their bodies almost seeming to move in the flickering torchlight. Overall, the effect was not exactly comforting, and Iruka did a genjutsu release just to be on the safe side.

As they approached the far end of the chamber, two things came into view. The first was a towering stone statue at least fifteen meters tall depicting a dour, monkeyish old wizard with a long, narrow beard. The second was a tiny figure with fiery red hair lying between the statue's feet.

A hand on Harry's shoulder kept him from rushing forward unsupported, but the three wizards nevertheless advanced quickly towards the prone girl. Knowing Harry's attention would be focused on her, Iruka kept his directed outward, wary of threats, and noticed Filius dividing his attention between the two tasks. As they reached Ginny, Harry knelt down, dropping his wand, and shaking her shoulders, whispering her name interspersed with exhortations to not be dead. Filius cast a quick diagnostic charm over her, and frowned at the results. "She's alive," he said, "but in a deep sleep, and her vital signs are weak and gradually fading. We need to revive her, or failing that get her to Madam Pomfrey, as soon as possible."

"She won't wake." Iruka was startled by the soft voice - he hadn't heard, seen, nor otherwise sensed _anyone_ but the four of them - and turned to see a young man leaning against a nearby pillar where he could _swear_ there hadn't been anyone moments before. The boy had dark hair and pale skin, with handsome aristocratic features and a lean build, appearing to be in his mid-teens, but he was also somewhat blurry at the edges, as if he were more of an image than a real person.

Iruka kept his wand out, but also brought his right hand towards his kunai holster. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" His question was more of a demand. "You're wearing Slytherin robes and a Prefect badge, but you're not any of the current Slytherin Prefects."

"He's not a current student of _any_ type of any House," Filius chimed in, his wand leveled at the boy while his eyes continued to scan the Chamber warily.

"I'm a memory," the figure replied, pointing to a small black book on the floor at the statue's toes, "Preserved in a diary for fifty years. Tom Riddle, at your service." He finished with a slight, somewhat mocking bow.

Iruka's eyes narrowed. "Tom _Marvolo_ Riddle, or as your later self preferred to be called, Lord Voldemort?" He heard both Harry and Filius gasp in shock. "A mass-murderer with delusions of godhood and a fondness for attacking noncombatants."

While Riddle's smile had grown at the mention of his _nom de guerre_ , his expression had quickly turned to one of petulant rage as Iruka continued. " **Crucio**!" he bellowed, and the chuunin carefully sidestepped the notorious Torture Curse. "You will learn _respect_ for your betters." He ignored whatever spell Filius shot in response, as it passed through his form as if he were no more substantial than mist. Unwilling to give the psychotic spectre the chance to try again, Iruka dashed forward at his best speed, easily snatching the wand from the startled shade's hand before hopping back to his companions and passing the wand to Filius, who then turned his attention to the diary. The diminutive former champion duelist shot a rapid barrage of spells at the seemingly innocuous book, and though the floor _around_ the diary showed that many of those spells were quite destructive, the diary itself remained strangely unaffected. "I see the half-breed is well placed in Ravenclaw," Riddle sneered, "but it won't help you. None of you have the power to destroy that which I have created."

"Perhaps Severus might have been the better choice," Filius commented sourly. "With his knowledge of Dark magic he might be able to destroy whatever that diary is. Nothing I know of can survive Fiendfyre, and he and the Headmaster are the only ones I know that might be able to cast it without killing everyone in the Chamber. If we can get it to them quickly enough, we may yet be able to save Ms. Weasley and shut this _thing_ up." He gestured to Riddle with his last comment.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Riddle drawled. "I require the remainder of that foolish girl's life-force if I am to be fully reconstituted. As for the rest of you, well, let's see how you deal with the _true_ power of the Heir of Slytherin!" At this, he turned to the statue and hissed loudly at it, and the statue responded, in a way: Its mouth began to slowly open. The moment Iruka saw movement in the dark hole that resulted, he snapped his eyes shut and called for Harry and Filius to do the same before leaping away from the statue to stand nearer the center of the Chamber.

It was time to see if a shinobi could kill a basilisk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffy again! Muahahaha!
> 
> Anyway, at least half of the last chapter and all of this chapter were written over the course of a few hours. Sometimes I have to fight to get every paragraph on the page, and sometimes the story just flows. As I write this, I've already got a version of the upcoming fight written, actually written before I wrote Chapter 1, but events since then have changed my plans so it needs reworking. Details will be in the A/N of that chapter, and the original version will be lumped with my other outtakes/omakes/deleted scenes and posted if/when people express interest in such. It probably won't be substantially different though.
> 
> ADDITION FROM JUST BEFORE POSTING: Yeah, it wasn't very different.


	10. Basilisk

Iruka heard a truly enormous Basilisk slithering out of the statue's mouth, like some grotesque tongue. 'I hadn't figured Salazar Slytherin for a fan of puns...' Iruka shook off the random thought, shouting "Harry, Filius, stay with Ginny - he can't risk killing her! And keep your eyes closed until I say otherwise!" The boy and professor did as they were told, not wanting to get in his way or risk meeting the Basilisk's deadly gaze.

Closing his own eyes, Iruka took note of where he could sense the Basilisk's position, tracking it as he quickly reached into one of his holsters to grab a quartet of kunai with explosive tags attached. Figuring that a direct hit, especially without clear sight, would be practically impossible for him, he went for the next best thing, aiming two for about where the Basilisk's eyes should be and using the other two to bracket the sides of its head. As he expected, the snake tried to duck below the projectiles. 'Just like Anko-san's summons,' he noted of the reaction, grinning as he detonated all four tags as they passed near their target. The echoes of the violent explosion were joined by inhuman screams from Slytherin's pet. 'Okay, maybe not exactly like Anko's summons...'

A hissing shout came from Riddle's position, and Harry called "He's telling it to track you by smell!" Iruka responded by leaping behind one of the support pillars, pulling a signal mirror from one of his vest pouches - just because it sounded like the Basilisk was blind, he wasn't taking any unnecessary chances - and confirmed through the reflection that both of the Basilisk's eyes had been ruptured by the force of the nearby explosions. He was given a much closer look moments later as the Basilisk dashed towards him, clearly still able to track him, forcing him to retreat up the column and leap off when the snake smashed through the stone pillar instead of going around it. As he went, he called back that Harry and Filius could open their eyes.

Under ordinary circumstances, Iruka would have used a quick diversion and hidden himself, erasing his presence as much as possible in hopes of creating an opening. That option wasn't available here, however, with three friendlies in the battle zone, two of which would almost certainly be targeted at the first opportunity if the Basilisk's attention wasn't kept focused elsewhere.

What followed was a bizarre (at least by non-shinobi standards) game of cat-and-mouse. The Basilisk would pursue Iruka, who would evade its attacks and try to counter with his own, never moving so far away as to make Harry a more inviting target. He stayed high whenever he could, since lifting its bulk off the ground cost the snake in both mobility and reach. Filius joined the fray and did what he could in support, trying to divert the Basilisk's attention and protect Iruka when the opportunity arose. Unfortunately, while Iruka's mobility and training kept him ahead of his pursuer, he didn't have anything that could inflict noticeable damage on it. Stories of the Basilisk's protective scales were clearly not exaggerated, as kunai failed to penetrate and Iruka's best fire jutsu left only superficial scorch marks. As fast as the Basilisk was moving, hitting its damaged eyes directly was proving difficult, and the snake was clearly smart enough to keep its mouth closed to protect the vulnerable soft tissue within. He even attempted to use a simple but relatively potent genjutsu, but his adversary was clearly resistant or immune on that front as well. Judging by the trivial scoring on the snake's tough skin, Filius wasn't faring any better.

As is often the case in battle, the stalemate was broken by a stroke of luck. When the Basilisk smashed through a third pillar, a fist-sized fragment clipped Iruka, throwing off his dodge just enough for the snake's tail to catch him with a powerful blow. The resultant aerial tumble came to an abrupt and painful halt against another of the Chamber's pillars. Unfortunately, Iruka had far less success than his opponent at smashing through, and instead slid down to rest in a sitting position against the pillar's base.

Everything hurt. After what was likely one of the worst hits he had ever suffered, it was all Iruka could manage just to hold onto consciousness, but still he tried to regain his feet. No way - NO WAY was he giving up while he had students to protect. He just needed a few minutes to recover and he'd be back in the fight. Slytherin's Basilisk, though, wasn't going to give him those minutes. It knew that the prey that had hurt it was now helpless, and it was finally time to eat. The king of serpents struck, its mouth gaping and its fangs extended, ready to kill. 'Oh,' he thought distantly, 'of course _now_ it opens its mouth...'

The squelching crunch of flesh being pierced was, surprisingly, not accompanied by the stabbing pain of impalement or the burning of deadly venom. Instead, Iruka saw Harry standing before him, having dodged between the Basilisk's fangs and into its gaping mouth. His student had wielded the kunai he'd passed him earlier, using the Basilisk's own momentum to drive the weapon into the roof of its mouth so deeply that only part of the hilt was visible.

After a moment in which the world seemed to pause, everything surged back into motion. The Basilisk recoiled, opening its mouth as wide as its jaws would allow to try and escape the blade piercing its flesh, as Harry leapt back towards his teacher, avoiding the fangs again as they pulled away. A quick scan of the Chamber also showed Filius taking advantage of everyone else's distraction to pull his unconscious student to a less exposed position. The Basilisk continued to thrash, shrieking in pain, before slamming to the floor and going still.

Harry remained, standing between his teacher and the now-enraged shade of Tom Riddle, pointing his wand at the latter, and growled out "You already took my parents and my childhood from me, but I've found a new home and a new family, and YOU WILL NOT TOUCH THEM AGAIN!"

Suddenly, for a brief moment, Iruka was transported to another time and place. The ophidian pillar he was sat against was a tree, the shade of a budding Dark Lord replaced with a traitorous colleague and supposed friend, and the young man in between them garbed in an atrocious orange tracksuit instead of black wizarding robes. In that moment, Iruka knew that somehow, Riddle was the only one that wouldn't leave the Chamber that day.

"That's one problem solved," called Filius, "but Miss Weasley is fading rapidly! We need to get that diary to someone that can destroy it!"

"Don't waste your time," Riddle drawled angrily, "that book is layered with every protective enchantment I could cast on it. Your pathetic spells and Muggle weapons will never touch it. Did you think I would entrust a piece of my immortality to mere paper and leather?"

As the nearly-solid shade continued to boast, Iruka spotted it. Lying beside the dead Basilisk was the hilt of Harry's kunai, with nothing but pitted, smoking steel where the blade should be. It must have pierced a venom sac - no wonder the snake had died: Anko had mentioned once that many venomous snakes weren't immune to their own venom. What mattered now, though, was if venom that could obliterate steel and kill the King of Serpents would be enough to overcome the protections on that diary. "Basilisk fang, venom," he managed to gasp out to Harry.

After a moment of confusion Harry clearly understood his teacher's meaning, hurrying over to the Basilisk's corpse, calling to Filius to bring the diary. He tried prying or breaking one of the fangs out of the snake's mouth, but it remained firmly attached. "Good thinking!" Filius cried as he dashed over, "Basilisk venom is one of the most destructive substances known to wizardkind!" Meanwhile, Riddle's smug anger was rapidly morphing to shock and fear - this, more than anything else, told Iruka he'd guessed right.

"No, stop, stay away from there! **Accio** diary! **Accio** wand! **Accio** knife!" Riddle shouted, extending his hand first towards the three wizards. After the first two targets proved too tightly-held to Summon away, Iruka watched as one of his previously-thrown kunai flew to the shade, who grabbed it and dashed towards the two still standing, clearly intent on killing them without magic if he had to. Noticing this, Filius yelled to Harry to just hold the fang steady.

As Harry complied, Filius gripped the diary by its edges, and rammed it straight onto the fang's tip. Unlike the spells before, the Basilisk fang pierced into the diary, and the resultant hole gushed what looked to be black ink in a way disturbingly reminiscent of blood from a mortal wound. Riddle's charge was halted as the shade dropped his stolen weapon and screamed, clutching at the holes that seemed to appear throughout his form before dissipating like smoke.

The two upright wizards panted as their adrenaline began to abate, before a faint moan had Harry dashing over to where Filius had stashed Ginny. "She's waking up!" he called. Filius shot Iruka a questioning look of concern, but Iruka simply nodded and waved him away. After a couple minutes of quiet conversation that Iruka really couldn't make out in his current state, all three came over and Filius began casting over Iruka.

"Three cracked ribs, two broken, a concussion, and quite a lot of bruising. I'm afraid I don't have the skills to help more than this." At that statement, Filius's wand disgorged a mass of bandages that wrapped Iruka's torso to stabilize his rib fractures somewhat. He then cast the same messenger spell the Headmaster had used earlier, though in this case the silvery creature was some sort of small mammal, possibly a squirrel, but between its speed and his concussion Iruka couldn't be sure. "There, that should let Albus know the most vital information. He can debrief us fully when he gets us out of this miserable, albeit impressive, hole."

As if in reply, a hauntingly beautiful crooning echoed throughout the Chamber, heralding the arrival of Fawkes the phoenix in a burst of flames. The magnificent bird flew down to hover before the four of them, still singing joyously, his song lifting their spirits and easing Iruka's pain somewhat.

"Of course!" Filius crowed excitedly, "Phoenixes can carry immensely heavy loads, and can travel near-instantaneously over great distances! I had asked Albus to send help down the pipe and tunnel along with some broomsticks, but this will be much faster and more direct. Everyone, grab hold of a tail feather and don't let go."

Once they'd helped Iruka to his feet, all four grasped the phoenix's tail before they were overcome with a feeling of near-weightlessness. Fawkes flew upward, dragging them along as if they weighed nothing (which, to be fair, seemed to be the case), but just as it seemed they'd impact the stone ceiling they were engulfed in orange flames that, rather than burning, simply surrounded them in a comforting warmth. When the flames receded, they were being lowered gently towards the floor of the Hospital Wing as the Headmaster strode in, followed by Poppy Pomfrey, Minerva, Amelia Bones, and the Weasley parents.

"Ginny!" Iruka's ears, already ringing somewhat from the hit he had taken, were now doubly affected after Molly Weasley called out her youngest child's name loudly enough to be heard halfway to the Great Hall. Mother and daughter rushed towards each other and collided in a tearful embrace, joined soon after by Arthur.

While the Weasleys took comfort in family, Filius helped Iruka into the dubious comfort of the nearest hospital bed. Madam Pomfrey was soon standing over him, waving her wand and tutting angrily at the injuries her spells reported. After her diagnostics, her first response was to cast a charm that suddenly left Iruka breathing much more comfortably, suggesting that she'd mended his ribs. Several more spells followed, healing a variety of cuts and other minor injuries he'd been ignoring due to more pressing concerns. A quick trip to her potions cupboard had her returning with a tin of some sort and a goblet of something Iruka strongly suspected would make him regret having a tongue. "Concussion Remedy," she stated, "for your head. This plus a good night's rest should have that sorted. I've no doubt the Headmaster will be wanting to speak with you first, but you drink that directly after, understood?" Iruka nodded slightly at her use of the universal Medic's Glare before she continued. "Good, and while Filius keeps them all busy, you'll be changing out of those filthy clothes and I'll get some Bruise Balm on that back of yours." A wave of her wand had privacy curtains gathering around his bed. "You'll need another application in the morning, like as not, but I dare say you'll sleep more soundly with the bruises at least partly healed."

Iruka did as he was told, gingerly removing his uniform and warning the hospital matron that there were some potentially dangerous items contained in it and that it would be best to save passing it to the house-elves to launder until after he'd made sure it was safe for them. She was clearly less than pleased at this news, but gave her reluctant agreement. A strong cleaning charm later (she didn't want him trying to shower or bathe with his head injury), she was applying Bruise Balm to his abused back, shoulders, and head with the ease of long practice. Some bandages were summoned and affixed with Sticking Charms to keep the Balm from rubbing off during the night, and Iruka was finally allowed to put on some clean hospital pajamas. Meanwhile, a house-elf had changed the linens on his bed for some not befouled by whatever muck was soaked into his uniform from the day's adventure.

Once Iruka had settled into a bed the privacy screens were opened, admitting the chatter he hadn't realized they'd been heavily muffling (he _hated_ head injuries) and several of those from whom the chatter was issuing. First in were the Weasleys, both parents and all four boys currently at Hogwarts (the boys presumably arriving while Iruka was indisposed), while he could see Ginny ensconced in another bed across from him clearly trying to process her ordeal.

Arthur was the first to speak. "I've already said this to Professor Flitwick and your students, but thank you, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I can't-" The man choked briefly with emotion. "I can't even begin to _think_ about losing Ginny, or any of my children. If there's ever anything the Weasley family can do for you, simply ask and it's yours." The four sons present nodded their resolute agreement, even the ever-jovial twins uncharacteristically serious.

"Our hero twice over," Molly added, "first Pandora and now our Ginny. Professor Flitwick said you'd hurt your ribs, so I'll save the hug for when you're mended." Everyone present gave the tense chuckle of people trying to stop thinking of a dark 'what-could-have-been', before they returned to the bedside of their youngest member.

The four members of S.E.N entered next, Harry still in his stained and rumpled school robes (much to the open discontent of the resident Healer who undoubtedly wanted him in a bed of his own). They were soon all attempting to talk over each other, asking if Iruka was going to be okay, if he was hurting, when would he be getting out of the Hospital Wing. "Don't worry," he told them with a chuckle once he managed to get a word in edgewise, "I should be fine and out of here tomorrow. It was a bad hit, but it's not the first time I've been injured in battle. To be honest, I'm lucky to still be in one piece - that Basilisk had me pretty thoroughly outclassed."

The four's expressions as they looked at each other said it all: 'How?'

"It was a simple case of offense and defense," he explained patiently, "I didn't have anything that could actually damage something so tough, but it had plenty of ways it could hurt me. My whole strategy boiled down to 'don't get hit and hope for an opening' - as you can see," he gestured wryly to his bandages, "that didn't exactly pan out."

Hermione, as usual, had an important question. "Then was it a bad strategy? What should you have done?"

"Given what I know of his abilities," came Filius's voice, calling attention to the Charms Professor, Headmaster, and DMLE Director standing behind the children, "it was the best strategy he had available at the time."

Madam Bones nodded seriously. "Fighting should never be your first or even second choice. You fight because you _have_ to, not because you _want_ to, and always with a goal in mind. It's almost always better to retreat in the face of danger rather than needlessly risk yourself or others. In this case, it sounds as if retreat wasn't an option: The objective of the three of you that went down there was to retrieve Miss Weasley and return safely, and you couldn't do that with a Basilisk attacking you. Speaking from experience, sometimes you just end up in a rotten situation, and you do the best you can to make it out alive."

Hermione's expression turned somewhat distant, and she spoke as if reciting. "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not weakness; that is life." At the curious expressions of those around her, she ducked her head with a slight blush. "It's a quote from a show I saw."

"I take it your mother is a fan too?" Iruka asked. At Hermione's confused nod, he elaborated, "She said the same thing to me over the summer."

Albus chuckled indulgently at the byplay. "Whatever its source, it is something we could all stand to remember at times. Now, we need to speak with Professor Umino, and I fear Madam Pomfrey is quite impatient to examine young Mister Potter here for injury, so I shall have to send you along for now. You may of course return tomorrow if you wish, presuming Poppy doesn't decide to incarcerate you all here." This last comment drew a look of irritation from the school nurse.

Once the children had been ushered out, with Harry looking somewhat fearfully at Madam Pomfrey, the Headmaster turned to Iruka. "I'm certain that Poppy will be most wroth with me if I keep you up any longer than is necessary, so I shall keep this brief: We can discuss today's events and review memories as appropriate tomorrow, when you've recovered; mental magics and head injuries mix quite poorly. For now, I ask only if you have any questions or information too urgent to wait a day."

Iruka thought for a moment. "Just some things to bring up in case you haven't already thought of them: Secure that bathroom, control the announcement of what happened and keep Ginny's name out of it, and make sure she has someone to talk with about what happened."

Albus nodded. "Your first point is well made, your second already well in hand, and the third being presently fulfilled by Molly and Arthur."

"Good," Iruka replied. "If there's nothing else, I have a probably foul-tasting potion to drink and a night of prescribed bed rest, Healer's orders." His visitors chucklingly nodded their assent and departed, closing the privacy screens as they went. Iruka reached over to his side table and, taking a deep breath, quaffed the potion as quickly as he could manage.

He was right about the taste.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it! As I mentioned last chapter, the fight in the chamber was actually written before the rest of the fic, but the development of events throughout the story left me having to rework it a bit. The most significant change was that the original version had it be Harry and Ron accompanying Iruka to the Chamber, but I just couldn't find good a way to bring Ron into things. Meanwhile, I couldn't really come up with a reason for Iruka to be the only adult present.
> 
> Now, before you go off on me for using a similar basilisk-killing method to canon, let me offer in my defense that I wrote the entire fight based upon the abilities of those involved. Basilisks are pretty much immune to all but the most powerful of magics, so Flitwick couldn't cause any serious damage (I figure he's moderately powerful but extremely skilled and knowledgeable). He also couldn't hit its eyes from where he was positioned, especially since Iruka was staying up high. Iruka simply didn't have the right kind or power of jutsu to take down an enemy that big and durable: A lightning or wind specialist would have been able to do more damage, but fire and water just don't have the same degree of penetrating/cutting power at the same level of jutsu. Most jounin wouldn't have had much trouble winning this fight, and even ninjutsu-focused chuunin with the right elemental affinity would have had a good shot, but Iruka's abilities just weren't well suited to a head-on fight against this type of opponent. That left attacking either its eye sockets or its open mouth, and the former were just moving too quickly and erratically for him to target (Tenten could do it, as again could many jounin). I figured it'd be smart enough to not let him hit its mouth with whatever he used to attack its eyes, thus keeping its mouth closed while fighting him. The only option left was to hit it in the mouth while it was striking, so I decided to mirror canon with some changes, including Harry avoiding the fangs because he's actually gotten some melee combat training (which includes avoiding counterattacks while attacking). As for how he got there in time, that's explained next chapter.
> 
> Also, I do confess to drawing some inspiration from the Chamber fight in robst's "Harry Crow".
> 
> Hermione using the same quote as her mother was originally a mistake on my part, forgetting I'd already used it before. When I noticed, rather than just removing one or the other, I decided to have Iruka mention Monica Granger's use of the quote. Unlike her mother, Hermione gets the quote word-perfect, in part because she's much more of a perfectionist.


	11. Inquiry

The next morning saw Iruka waking well-rested and with a significantly clearer head. He got to enjoy this for approximately two seconds before the ache born of deep bruises and recent exertion caught up to him.

Madam Pomfrey must have had some sort of monitoring charm on him, as she arrived less than a minute later. A few quick diagnostic spells had her nodding in satisfaction and pronouncing him mostly mended before pointing him to the infirmary's shower. While it might have been different for those raised with magic, Iruka at least found that he felt far cleaner after scrubbing with soap and hot water than he had after the cleaning charms the night before. Emerging in a provided robe, he proceeded to separate his weapons and other ninja tools from his filth-caked uniform and seal them all away in a storage scroll. The house-elf that brought his breakfast looked at the fouled uniform with a mix of disgust and eagerness before popping away with it.

After another application of Bruise Balm and bandages, Iruka dressed in a set of his clothes delivered by Flippy and made his way back to his quarters. Just inside his door a note was hovering in the air, telling him (in the Headmaster's voice, once he walked up to it) that there was a meeting planned with Harry, Filius, and Madam Bones to go over recent events. A quick **Tempus** showed him that he had just enough time to get there on time without rushing, assuming the staircases cooperated.

As luck had it, he ran into Harry three turns from the gargoyle, which led to a brief period of awkward silence as both wanted to converse but neither could come up with any topic that could fit into their short walk together. Both arrived in the Headmaster's office to find the other three already present and the Pensieve already on the desk.

"Ah, Iruka, Harry, welcome!" Albus greeted. "Now that we are all present, I believe that Madam Bones has a number of questions regarding yesterday's events and what led up to them.

The DMLE Director nodded. "First of all, how did you figure out that Slytherin's monster was a Basilisk, and where and how to access the Chamber of Secrets?"

Iruka, with the occasional addition by Harry or Dumbledore, walked all present through the series of clues leading up to the discoveries in question, along with what steps were taken. Once they finished, the Headmaster spoke up. "Perhaps further questions would be best answered, at least in part, by viewing Professor Flitwick's memory of the Chamber expedition?" At Iruka's worried look, he addressed the chuunin. "I have already spoken with both Filius and Madam Bones, and both have agreed that any peculiar talents or abilities possessed by members of the rescue party are not relevant to any Ministry reports and are not to be shared outside the circle of trust without permission or compelling cause. Now, Filius, perhaps you could take the lead?"

Nodding in response, Filius hopped up on a conjured stool and bent down over the Pensieve. As soon as his nose touched the wispy not-liquid inside, the device seemed to suddenly suck him bodily into itself, his body stretching and streaming in as if fluid. It was startling to watch, but based on the unsurprised expressions worn by Professor Dumbledore and Madam Bones, Iruka could only conclude that this was how a Pensieve normally worked. Madam Bones followed, without needing the stool's assistance to reach the desktop. Harry went next, clear hesitation showing through his attempt at Gryffindor bravado, and Albus gestured to Iruka to follow, clearly intending to bring up the rear himself.

Not knowing what to expect, the chuunin took and held a deep breath as he bent over the silvery surface. Instantly finding himself falling through _something_ immensely cold and dark nearly caused him to cry out, then just as suddenly he was standing next to Filius, Madam Bones, Harry, Filius, Snape, Albus, himself, and S.E.N. - he recognized the hallway outside the girl's loo haunted by 'Moaning Myrtle'. A second Albus appeared moments later.

Together, the five watched the end of Iruka's tale play out. Madam Bones gave the Headmaster a look of sympathy when he was denied a place on the rescue mission, likely having experience herself with sending friends and colleagues into danger and being unable to give aid herself. Her look turned intensely curious at his logic for sending Filius in his place, and her monocle fell out of her eye when Harry was revealed to be a Parselmouth. "What did you say, by the way?" Filius asked as Memory-Harry opened the sink.

"I just said 'open'," Harry replied with a half-shrug, "here and later."

"So much for the cunning of Slytherin," the sole witch present commented, "it's pure arrogance thinking Parseltongue is the only security you need."

"Most lax," the Headmaster agreed. "I shudder to consider Alastor's response."

Due to the nature of the memory, the five viewers had to quickly follow Memory-Filius down the pipe, Current-Harry whooping in delight at the ride now that he could enjoy it without the threat of imminent danger. The adults present all gave fond chuckles at the bottom of the slide as Harry blushed.

The brief bout of levity was soon forgotten, however, at the first sight of the Basilisk's shed skin. " _Merlin_ ," Madam Bones breathed, "Basilisk or not, any snake that size would be seriously dangerous. How in the world did you all make it out of there alive?"

"You'll see soon enough," Filius commented as the memory continued on towards the Chamber proper. Iruka received an approving nod from the DMLE Head at his memory-self's reminder that they were on a rescue mission, not a snake hunt.

Both Albus and Madam Bones were wide-eyed at the Chamber itself. When the young Riddle made his appearance, the stern witch's eyes immediately narrowed in suspicion, while the Headmaster's expression was more one of sadness, regret, and almost pity. When the phantom called out to the statue, Harry translated the hissing as "Speak to me Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four."

"Lax security, giant statue of himself, that password," Iruka snarked, "Salazar Slytherin was truly a humble man."

"Eyes closed until the explosion, everyone!" Filius's shout startled the other four, who looked at him in confusion. "We don't know if the memory of the Basilisk will contain any of its gaze, and I'd rather not find out in the affirmative." Seeing the logic in the statement, all present closed their eyes until the sound of Iruka's explosive tags.

The two who hadn't been present in the Chamber watched the battle in amazement, particularly the witch who hadn't previously seen what Iruka was capable of. Both were also clearly thinking furiously, whether trying to predict the outcome or trying to figure out what their own strategy would be in that situation. Everyone winced when Iruka was hit, though he calmly reassured them, "I've had as bad before, and it's better than it looks." Judging by the brief glares, it didn't seem to help.

With an outside perspective and a clear head, Iruka could see Memory-Harry dashing across the Chamber floor, faster than he'd ever seen the boy move before, as the Basilisk gathered itself to strike, oblivious to all else in its fixation on its prey. Watching Harry bring down the King of Serpents with a single kunai was amazing even to those who had been there at the time (including Harry himself), and the adults all favored the second-year Gryffindor with wistful but proud smiles as he stood resolutely before his fallen teacher and shouted down the most feared wizard in decades.

After such a spectacle, seeing the diary's destruction was almost anticlimactic. Soon enough the memories had arrived in the Hospital Wing, and Iruka found himself flying upward before landing softly back in the Headmaster's office.

"I felt bloody useless," Filius remarked sourly as the Albus shot him a look of reprimand for his language. "Nothing I tried did anything against Riddle, that diary, the Basilisk..."

"You got us all _out_ , Filius," Iruka replied immediately. "Even if I could normally have cast that messenger spell - something I'd like to learn, by the way - I was in no state to pull off anything more complex than a Lumos. I suppose if there'd been no other choice, that I _could_ have probably climbed back up that pipe carrying or dragging the children, but it would not have done good things for those broken ribs. Somehow, I doubt I'd be this fully recovered today if I'd punctured a lung yesterday." Filius nodded, somewhat mollified but still clearly unsatisfied at his own contribution.

Madam Bones apparently wanted to ask her questions in chronological order. "Since we didn't see it happen, how did you create that explosion?"

"Might I take a guess?" Filius interjected. At Iruka's nod, he continued. "I noticed several times during that fight that you threw knives trailing small slips of paper. Those knives, or more likely the papers behind them, seemed to produce explosions. Recalling your safety demonstration last year and this year, you showed that misdrawn seals can explode when energized, and that the charging cluster can have a time-delay introduced. It stands to reason, then, that it would be possible to create a seal _designed_ to explode, likely with much greater power than most accidents, and to do so in a controlled, predictable fashion."

Iruka smiled at his colleague. "That's right. Those paper tags carried explosive seals. Back home, I sparred on a couple occasions with a woman whose fighting style included summoned snakes of various sizes, so I have some idea how such a creature moves. Even blind, I could hear the Basilisk moving and could tell where it was, so I threw a set of four exploding kunai, those knives, to bracket its head and make sure I ruined its eyes. It was moving too quickly and unpredictably to target the eyes directly, even once I could see."

"That all brings up my next question," the witch said. "How were you able to move like that, and how did you generate those fire spells without a wand?"

The chuunin replied with a brief synopsis of shinobi, chakra, and jutsu, as Filius listened with rapt attention. Albus occasionally commented to clarify points from a wizarding perspective. When he finished, Madam Bones nodded. "I can certainly understand wanting to keep all that secret; the Department of Mysteries would be all over you if they heard about your abilities, and I'd call it a coin toss between the conservative elements decrying you as a creature or demanding access to your powers. Either way, the Prophet would have a field day and their coverage would _not_ be favorable to you. As long as you don't use your abilities for nefarious purposes, I'll keep quiet about them. Won't stop me wishing I had a few Aurors that could do such things, though."

Iruka chuckled. "I'd look at training a few trusted people, were it not for the fact that adults would get very little benefit from it. Of the children I've been training here in Britain, the youngest began at age nine and will still likely never reach my level of ability because of her late start, though she'll outstrip me in magic before she finishes Hogwarts. If you want shinobi-trained Aurors, I'd first suggest finding out if Harry or any of his friends are interested." Harry blushed at the considering look this last statement drew from the chief law-enforcement officer of Wizarding Britain.

"I take it that your training is how Harry knew how to properly handle a blade?" Filius asked.

"Yeah, it was," Harry replied for his sensei. "I just used one of the stances Iruka-sensei showed us; he said it was for enemies attacking from above, which the Basilisk kind of was. I also made sure to turn sideways like he tells us, to be a smaller target and be more stable, which ended up letting me go between the fangs."

"It was very well done," Iruka told his student. "Incredibly reckless, but still, well done."

Albus had the next question. "I noticed that young Harry moved remarkably quickly for a boy his size, even more so than I'd seen in the training sessions I've observed. Was this a new technique you'd taught recently?"

Iruka shook his head. "I've never seen Harry move that fast before either, though I do have a theory about how he managed it. How were you feeling after the Chamber, Harry?"

Harry seemed a bit surprised at the question. "Other than crashing off the adrenaline, I was sore all over. Madam Pomfrey made me take a Muscle-Mending Tonic before she'd let me leave the Hospital Wing."

The chuunin smiled. "That confirms my theory. I'm pretty sure that you somehow managed to pull off at least an approximation of a technique called the **Omote Renge** , the Initial Lotus. You basically pushed past the limits your body normally imposes on your strength and speed to avoid damaging itself. I don't know whether you did it the same way it's normally performed, whether your magic contributed in some way, or some other possibility. What I _can_ say is _why_ you were able to do it."

"In Konoha," he continued, "we consider our friends, family, village, and comrades to be of paramount importance, and that fighting for each other is always better than fighting for ourselves. That focus on others, on bonds and protection, is what we call 'The Will of Fire', and it's been our village's guiding philosophy since its founding. To put it another way," he said as he put a hand on his student's shoulder, "as the Seventh Hokage will often tell people, 'When a person is protecting someone precious to them, that is when that person can become truly strong.'"

Albus beamed proudly at the two of them. "A wise and enlightened philosophy," he commented. "There will come times when we must take up arms and fight, and it is terribly easy for people to lose themselves in power and violence when that happens. We must always remember to fight with love in our hearts, rather than hatred. Love, I firmly believe, is the most wondrous and powerful magic of all."

A cough from Madam Bones brought them all back to the present. "My next question is for you, Albus." She pointed towards the Headmaster's desk, where Iruka saw the stained remains of Tom Riddle's diary. "What in Merlin's name _was_ that thing?"

"Alas," he replied, "I cannot be certain. Whatever magic it previously held, its enchantments have been utterly shattered by the potent destructiveness of Basilisk venom. I have scanned it using every method I know, and several I had to look up in some of my more esoteric volumes of magical lore, but mostly all I can detect now is a faint residue of the foulest Dark magic I have ever seen. I have a working hypothesis, but I do not believe it appropriate material for younger, more innocent ears." He finished while giving Harry a meaningful look. "Also, the wards inform me that we are about to have company of a sort most ill-suited to such a discussion..."

Almost as soon as the Headmaster finished speaking, the door was thrown open without knocking, and a man swept smoothly (if pompously) into the room. He was tall and lean, clad in immaculate jet black robes of expensive fabric and cut and carrying a black cane with a silver snake-head handle, and appeared to be in his early to mid-30s. His long hair was a near-white blonde, and his complexion was similarly pale; these, plus his sharp facial features and cold, sneering expression marked him as most likely Lucius Malfoy, father of Harry's classmate and erstwhile rival Draco, head of the Hogwarts Board of Governors, and supposedly-conscripted 'former' Death Eater.

" _Dreadful_ thing, Dumbledore, " Malfoy drawled while withdrawing a rolled document from his robes, "but the governors feel it's time for you to step aside. This is an Order of Suspension - you'll find all twelve signatures on it. I'm afraid we feel you're losing your touch. How many attacks have there been now? Another one just yesterday, this time the youngest child of one of your most ardent supporters. Clearly, you are simply no longer able to keep your students safe."

"I'm afraid, Lucius," the Grand Sorcerer replied with a calm smile, "that your information is somewhat out of date. Not only was Slytherin's mysterious Chamber found and Miss Weasley retrieved unharmed, but the beast inflicting the petrifications was slain and the individual controlling it dealt with."

"How delightfully _convenient_ for you," Malfoy sneered. "While _some_ people might simply accept your assurances as absolute, the Board shall require more proof than a wild story."

"It is fortuitous then," the Supreme Mugwump said, "that I was shortly about to suggest a return expedition to the Chamber in order to ensure that no other unpleasant surprises remain within, and to examine the Chamber itself. It is, after all, a historical site, and as such should be studied and documented. This time, of course, we shall be able to go in far greater numbers and safety. I had planned on calling in some specialists to check for any lingering curses or hidden areas, but you are welcome to call upon experts of your own choosing as well. Also, I hope to bring Professor Snape with us to examine the carcass, in case any portion of it might be useful in his work or his research."

"I see," the blond aristocrat said coldly. "And when do you intend your little undertaking to begin?"

"With luck," the Chief Warlock smiled back, "I hope to have all the necessary parties gathered tomorrow. Shall I owl you with the time?"

"Please do. You may remain in your post, _for now_ , but if you are unable to provide adequate proof of your claims tomorrow you shall not be returning to this office afterward. If you will excuse me..." He gave a formal, if minimal, nod of his head to those present before striding back out.

"Take a lesson from the Headmaster, Harry," Iruka commented once the interloper had left. "You should always try to stay polite and friendly towards people no matter how unpleasant they are. If nothing else, it's amusing how annoyed they get."

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," Albus stated with a seemingly-serious expression belied by the twinkling in his eyes. "I was simply showing good manners to a guest, nothing more. Now, it would seem that I shall have to be somewhat more urgent in gathering participants for tomorrow's little adventure; may I count on all of your attendance?" A round of nods answered him. "Excellent. Now, before you go, I have an idea which I expect young Harry might appreciate..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've seen fics that have people entering memories by sticking a finger into the Pensieve, fics that have people just standing there spaced out while viewing memories, and fics that have memory-viewing take very little time. All of these I questioned whether they were canonical or not. Turns out, not. I based the method of Pensieve usage on a scene from Chapter 10 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Harry and Dumbledore enter the Pensieve sequentially, and when they leave, it mentions their feet landing on the floor of Dumbledore's office, so I concluded that the user is pulled bodily into the memory. The description in the book also indicates that a non-trivial amount of time passed during the memory viewing.
> 
> Also, why is it that both FFnet and AO3 strip underlining (but not bold/italic)?


	12. Toad in the Hole

At breakfast the next morning, Albus informed Iruka that they would be gathering to explore the Chamber just after lunch. Classes had been canceled for the day as at least two Professors of core subjects, one Adjunct Professor, and one elective teacher would be part of the expedition, and other staff might also be called in as well.

As lunch was in progress, a number of people began to arrive, and were promptly invited to join in with the meal. Amelia Bones and Alastor Moody ate at the head table, with the latter casting numerous detection charms over the table, his chair, his plate and cutlery, the food itself, and anything else he deemed 'suspicious' (it was a long list). About halfway through, an unfamiliar pair of adults stepped in, though the younger of the two was clearly familiar to some in the hall.

"BILL!" Ginny Weasley's delighted shout echoed through the Great Hall as a fiery-haired missile streaked from the Gryffindor table to impact with a laughing young man that Iruka presumed to be William, the oldest of the Weasley siblings. The man was tall and lean, with handsome features framed by a ponytail of the trademark Weasley red hair; he wore sturdy casual clothing with dragonhide boots and a long coat, along with some sort of fang for an earring. The overall effect was such that quite a few witches in the room clearly seemed to wish they were the ones presently sharing a hug with the dashing young wizard.

After several minutes conversing with five of his younger siblings, during which his companion (a middle-aged wizard with dark hair and skin, dressed in similar style minus the earring and carrying a large satchel) looked on in bemusement, Bill headed for the staff table with Ginny in tow. The first-year girl was pretty much attached to her big brother, her arm around his waist while his was draped protectively over her shoulder. She was also smiling, really smiling, for the first time Iruka had seen since the Chamber.

"Professor Umino?" he asked Iruka, who nodded. "Bill Weasley, from what I've heard the one Weasley you've yet to meet. I wanted to add my own thanks for saving my little sister," he gave Ginny a one-armed squeeze, "both you and Professor Flitwick. I'll be thanking the third member of your group later, as I'm told he doesn't like being singled out in public. The Weasley family owes all three of you big time."

"It was really a team effort," Iruka deflected. "More than just those of us that went down, others helped figure out what was going on. Besides, the only reason we could attempt the rescue was knowing the rest of the staff were here, protecting everyone else. Everybody played a part - mine was mostly running around and nearly getting squashed flat by a giant snake. You're helping too, actually," he said with a nod towards Ginny, "and in more ways than whatever you've been called in for."

"William is a professional curse-breaker working for Gringotts," Albus explained, "with a specialization in exploring and securing ancient ruins. Once I explained the circumstances, the goblins were quite reasonable about recalling him from his assignment in Egypt."

Bill nodded. "Yeah, goblins don't mess around when it comes to family honor. Besides, having Gringotts staff part of this expedition is good publicity for the curse-breaking division, so between those and the fact that I can be back in Egypt tomorrow, they were willing to let me take this job. Of course, it doesn't hurt that they've been promised a share in the value of whatever we find down there. As I'm sure you noticed yourself, goblins are experts at getting the most from a deal. My team has made use of a couple of your seals ourselves, they're quite handy, so thanks for that too."

"I'm glad to hear they're helping," Iruka replied with a smile.

"Well, don't let us keep you;" the Headmaster said jovially into the following lull, "both you and your colleague are welcome to partake of refreshment. I dare say your brothers, and several of their Housemates, wouldn't mind having you return to your old House table."

All of the Weasleys present gathered at the Gryffindor table, while the other man from Gringotts took one of the extra seats placed at the staff table. He introduced himself as Jake Fairfield, and explained in an accent Iruka didn't recognize that he was tasked with collecting some things from the basilisk carcass, "after Hogwarts' Potions Master, of course," he added genially at the harsh glare his comments had provoked from said wizard. Snape responded with a grudging nod.

Lunch passed in a blur of pleasant conversation, Iruka taking the opportunity to speak with the visitors and broaden his knowledge a bit. Jake, as he insisted everyone call him, was apparently an expert on potion ingredients, especially those that were rare or otherwise difficult and/or dangerous to obtain, which explained why he'd been chosen for this particular assignment. He had far more stories than he had time or permission to share, mostly about dealing with foreign cultures and exotic creatures. Madam Bones largely kept things polite and bland, though she did explain a bit more about the workings of law enforcement in Wizarding Britain. Moody kept his answers terse and fairly uninformative, eyeing whoever asked him a question with suspicion.

Finally, the meal ended, and the students slowly left, reluctant to miss out on whatever was going on. Iruka accompanied the Headmaster and guests, along with Professors Flitwick, Snape, and Kettleburn, into the antechamber across from the Great Hall. There, they found three more people for their expedition: There was Lucius Malfoy, unsurprisingly, along with a short, squat woman in garish pink who could only be the somewhat notorious Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, and a particularly vicious bigot responsible for many harsh laws regarding non-human and part-human beings. Standing apart from the other two was a... well they were a person, though adjectives beyond that were nearly impossible to discern thanks to their shapeless, all-concealing gray hooded robes and gloves. The chuunin had discussed with Pandora the possibility of consulting with the Department of Mysteries regarding their research, but decided that too little was known about the shadowy researchers called Unspeakables to trust that they wouldn't either steal the research (and his and Pandora's memories of it) or take Iruka himself for study.

Introductions were made all around (with the Unspeakable giving the codename "Fauld") before the entire group trudged up to the second floor. They first stopped at the two messages on the wall, where at Albus's request Bill examined both. The original message had been charmed to resist cleaning, but the charms didn't last long under the wand of a professional curse-breaker. Upon entering the haunted washroom, they found the sink entrance already standing open. "And now," the Headmaster announced, "we must enter this pipe which leads to the passage by which the Chamber is accessed. The journey down, I am informed, is entirely safe and quite exciting, but also unfortunately rather dirty. It was primarily for this reason that I advised you all to wear or bring clothing suitable for getting dirty." He proceeded to remove his fine hat and outer robes, revealing a heavy second set of robes of plain grey fabric, and hanging them on a conjured rack before tying up his hair and beard with a quick wave of his wand. Iruka, Filius, Professor Snape, and Madam Bones also shucked and hung their outer robes; Moody, Fauld, and the Gringotts employees seemed comfortable to descend as they were; Malfoy acted unconcerned and Umbridge simply glared at the hole in disgust.

"Hem, hem," the squat witch cleared her throat for attention. "I must have misheard you, Headmaster," she said in a simpering, high-pitched voice with a saccharine smile that very much did not reach her eyes. "Surely you don't mean that we are to reach Salazar Slytherin's legendary secret Chamber by sliding down a filthy drainpipe?"

"I am afraid, Dolores," Albus replied with a more sincere-looking kind smile, "that this is the only known means of entry. Did Lucius not inform you? My owl to him did state that accessing the Chamber would necessitate getting rather dirty." Umbridge just huffed and glared angrily at both wizards.

"I'll go first," Filius offered into the tense silence that followed, "as I've been down there before; once I've cast a few Cushioning Charms I'll message up. You'd be best waiting at least fifteen or twenty seconds between people, to give each person time to get out of the way." At the Headmaster's assenting nod, the Charms Master stepped out and dropped away. A minute or two later, a silvery weasel flew up out of the pipe and announced "All clear!" in the tiny Professor's voice.

Bill Weasley went next, followed by Moody, then the Unspeakable. One by one the various participants slid down to the tunnel deep below, before proceeding forward. "Careful," Bill warned as they approached the location of the shed skin, "I don't like the look of the stone around here. Too much of a disturbance could cause a collapse, so we'd best keep from making too much noise until we're through to somewhere more solid."

Albus responded by conjuring some timber braces to reinforce the walls and ceiling. "A temporary measure," he noted, "but at least for today, better safe than sorry." He braced a couple other sections of tunnel as well when Bill pointed them out as suspect. The entire trip, both the cursebreaker and Moody were casting various detection charms, but unsurprisingly (given the fact that this route had been traversed recently without incident) their scans came back negative. As they approached the entrance to the Chamber, they began to smell an increasingly-strong odor of decay, soon becoming enough of a problem that all were forced to make use of Bubble-Head Charms (with Iruka's helpfully provided by Filius).

Entering the Chamber proper, Malfoy's expression became somewhat wooden, while Umbridge showed a touch of disappointment. Moody's eye was scanning wildly in every direction, pausing for a moment near the entrance as the scarred Auror gave a brief, subtle smirk and jabbed with his wand, while both Bill and the Unspeakable were casting numerous detection charms. Albus casually commented, "Now that we have seen this Chamber in the... _ambiance_ its creator intended, perhaps we could do with somewhat clearer illumination?" A complex movement of his wand sent several brilliantly-glowing orbs of white light to hover high in the air along the length of the Chamber, showing the entire room in its ophidian glory. They also lit the massive carcass of the Basilisk, the obvious source of the stench permeating the Chamber.

"Yep, that's a Basilisk, all right," stated Silvanus Kettleburn, "you can tell by the horns, the size, and the coloration. Rare and bloody dangerous, they are - glad I'm only seein' this one dead."

"You would have us believe that this beast was killed only two days ago?" Malfoy demanded angrily, "It would take weeks or months to rot to this degree!" Both he and Umbridge showed a mix of outrage and eagerness.

"Actually, Lucius," Snape interjected, sounding far more amiable than Iruka had ever heard from the man, "a creature such as a Basilisk could well decay far more quickly than would be natural. It was a beast born of and sustained by powerful Dark magic, and now with its death that same magic is acting upon its carcass. As is commonly known, Dark magic is a predominantly destructive force, and it has now turned from sustaining the Basilisk to functioning in a far more typical fashion. Add to this the unnatural nature of the beast, which could also possibly cause it to decay more rapidly in order to restore balance, and this level of decomposition is to be expected."

When this assessment was confirmed by both Bill and the Unspeakable, both of whom had now focused their attentions on the corpse and the area around it, the Death Eater and Senior Undersecretary deflated. Once the dead Basilisk had been declared 'safe' (or at least as safe as such a thing could be), both Potions experts quickly moved over and began examining it. Contrary to his earlier behavior, Professor Snape was now conversing quickly with his counterpart, discussing which portions to harvest, how, and in which order.

"Hem, hem..." By the Sage, this woman was making him long for the incessant "Dattebayo!" of his former student. "I find it most distressing the amount of damage done to this priceless historical site. Surely _proper_ wizards should have been able to deal with the beast without smashing the place apart like a couple of trolls?"

Iruka adopted a placid smile. "I'm afraid that's largely down to the Basilisk itself, Ma'am; it showed a tendency to go _through_ the columns instead of _around_ them, particularly once it was blinded. On the positive side, the fact that they were just smashed by a creature instead of blasted by spells means they should be reasonably simple to fix once the experts have finished checking the Chamber over."

Said experts were presently occupied by a stretch of wall near the statue's feet. "Headmaster!" Bill Weasley called, "I think we've got something over here!" The entire party, minus the two potioneers currently elbow-deep in rancid Basilisk, made their way over. "We're detecting signs of a space of some sort behind this wall section," the cursebreaker explained, "but we've been unable to access it. Our only clue is this carving, just here." He pointed, and just above Iruka's eye level was a very small, shallow carving of a snake, not unlike the one on the taps upstairs. Even in the brighter light provided by the Headmaster, it was difficult to notice.

"I believe I may have a solution," Albus said, "but I must ask all of you to stand well back. We do not know precisely what may lie within, so it would be best if you all kept a safe distance." The assemblage did as they were told, some a bit reluctantly, before the aged wizard began making grand, intricate gestures with his wand. As he was doing so, Moody sidled up next to Iruka.

"Smart move," he commented quietly enough that only the chuunin could hear, "lettin' 'em all think it's some complicated secret spell while your boy does the real work. Means none of 'em'll be able to open it themselves once we're out. I'm guessin' it was the same for the entrance in the loo?"

"And a door to the Chamber itself," Iruka replied equally quietly. "He didn't want his involvement publicized."

"Can't blame the lad," Moody said, "that kind of attention is loads o' trouble. Twice over, if he's doin' what I think."

At around this point, a section of wall about the size of a typical door separated from the stone around it and sank downwards, stopping when it had become a near-seamless part of the floor. Dumbledore stepped back, and beckoned Bill, Moody, and the Unspeakable to once again do their work. Unlike previous areas, here they did find a magical booby-trap just inside the doorway, set to deliver a powerful electrical shock to anyone stepping or casting spells through. Thankfully, it was easily dismantled, apparently somewhat by design.

As the trio cautiously began to probe deeper into the newly-revealed area, Malfoy addressed Iruka. "While we wait, I am rather curious. You have all been decidedly vague regarding exactly _how_ such a fearsome beast was slain. Perhaps you would care to... enlighten us?"

"Obviously, when the culprit first called the thing out, we closed our eyes to avoid meeting its gaze." The chuunin launched into the (edited) tale. "Dying instantly wouldn't have helped our rescue mission much, after all. We used large-area explosions, aimed blindly around where its head _should_ be. When it shrieked in pain, I risked looking at it in a mirror to check whether both eyes were gone, and thankfully they were. The mirror, by the way, was because the group assisting our research into the attacks determined that the petrifications were all caused by indirect viewing of the Basilisk's eyes - in a reflection, through a ghost, and such. I figured by using a reflection, even if I was wrong and the eyes weren't out, at least I'd be only petrified and not dead."

"Once we could fight with our eyes open," he continued, "we did our best to put it down, but nothing we had could inflict meaningful damage through those scales. That left us basically just trying not to get eaten as it continued to track us by scent and sound. It was while I was running away, keeping its attention off of Filius and the kidnapped girl, that it smashed through those pillars. Finally, it managed a lucky hit with its tail that left me unable to keep running. When it tried to finish me off, it made the mistake of opening its mouth and exposing flesh that _wasn't_ so heavily protected. A single attack through the roof of its mouth managed to breach a venom sac, and Basilisk venom seems just as deadly to Basilisks as to anything else."

"In other words," Lucius responded, "you killed Slytherin's monster mostly through blind luck."

"Well," Iruka temporized, "what else would you expect from only two wizards, one of whom isn't great at combat magics, going up against a Class XXXXX magical beast?"

"What _I_ want to know," the Senior Undersecretary cut in, "is who is actually responsible for this debacle? After all, whoever it is has caused a great deal of trouble and damage, and should be duly punished!" Iruka really, _really_ didn't like the hungry gleam in her eyes at the last word.

"The same person as last time, Dolores," said Dumbledore, "But this time, Lord Voldemort was acting through somebody else. By means of this diary." He pulled the ruined book out of his robes and displayed it to the witch. "A very cunningly crafted magical device," he continued, "wrought with some truly foul Dark magic to deceive and ensnare the unwary, with the intention of stealing a victim's life to power the incarnation of a copy of its creator's teenaged self.

"A clever plan," the Headmaster commented flatly, now eyeing Malfoy as much as Umbridge, "Because had our intrepid rescuers not discovered this book, why - Ginny Weasley might have taken all the blame. No one would have ever been able to prove she hadn't acted of her own free will..."

Something in the canny old wizard's tone had Iruka paying careful attention. There was clearly more being said here than just the obvious, and Malfoy's reaction (or sudden lack thereof) said that he was receiving the message loud and clear. As Albus continued, a picture emerged to the chuunin: He too had heard the gossip about Lucius Malfoy brawling with Arthur Weasley in Diagon Alley that summer, like common Muggles, while out getting Hogwarts supplies for their respective children. It was wildly out of character for the arrogant pureblood aristocrat, which suggested an ulterior motive. The Weasley father's Muggle Protection Act and other activities had been decidedly unpopular with the Malfoys and their ilk, providing ample motive; Lucius's prior association with Riddle gave him the means; a distracting scuffle could have been used to create the opportunity. It was more than enough to strongly suspect the man, but left no actual _proof_.

Iruka began gathering a decent pool of _yin_ chakra, before speaking once Albus had finished. "It's a pity that we don't know who slipped that diary into Miss Weasley's schoolbooks," he commented calmly. "After all, whoever it was, they unleashed a Basilisk, a living weapon of mass murder, into a school full of Wizarding Britain's children, including Mr. Malfoy's own son and heir! I shudder to think of how close we came to suffering the deaths of random masses of students in the halls. But of course, Mr. Malfoy," he now addressed Lucius, "you needn't worry too much. We take the safety of our students quite seriously here at Hogwarts."

He gave the wizard a large, benevolent smile while using the gathered _yin_ chakra to crank up and tightly focus the sakki he was now emitting, aiming it at the Malfoy patriarch as powerfully as he could. Any experienced shinobi would have shrugged it off and scoffed at the parlor trick, but Iruka was the only person in the country fitting that description. "As we did with the Basilisk, we will deal with any threat to the children of this school as promptly and _thoroughly_ as possible. Of that you can be _certain_."

In spite of the cool air of the Chamber, Lucius Malfoy was sweating noticeably when Iruka abruptly let off his sakki a moment later, without giving any outward sign, before nodding to the man and moving off to converse with Madam Bones. He was hoping she had access to more information about the Death Eaters, such as their methods and tactics: If Riddle had effectively made two attempts to return in two years, then another war was likely inevitable and would probably come sooner than the chuunin would like. He needed to know everything he could find out about the people who would then become his enemies. Thankfully, the DMLE did indeed have extensive records from the previous war, and its Director was quite willing to send him a copy of everything she could, asking only that he share any useful insights with her and Dumbledore.

When the specialist team finally cleared the new area, everyone present (even the pair harvesting the Basilisk) came over to look. What they found was, frankly, anticlimactic. It was a set of rooms laden with dust and lacking anything of real interest. There were hearths burning with magical flames, along with some Spartan (and now more than a bit decayed) wooden furniture. Based on the furnishings, it looked like this area had been something of a retreat for Salazar Slytherin, containing a simple bed, a table with a single chair, some now-empty bookshelves, cabinets, and wardrobes, and a side room identifiable as a workspace by the damage, stains, and scorch marks both on the large tables and the room itself. Unfortunately, whoever had last accessed these rooms had clearly taken everything of interest or value, as even the most fastidious search had failed to turn up evidence of any further hidden secrets. Fortunately for Iruka's peace of mind, the thick layer of dust suggested that this emptying had happened long before Tom Riddle had ever attended Hogwarts.

Conjured ladders were used to reach the statue's open mouth, but the space within proved another disappointment, containing only bedding, shed skins, and droppings. Once it had been declared safe, the two harvesters climbed up to gather the skins and some of the droppings, just in case they might prove useful in their work. Though the rest of the business in the Chamber had been completed, the two reported that they would be working for hours yet, so Albus turned a quill from his pocket into a Portkey up to the dungeons, where both men could clean up before dividing the foul-smelling fruits of their labor.

He then pulled a long coil of rope from a pocket that must have been expanded on the inside, and instructed everyone else go gather and take hold of it. As Iruka did so, grasping the end opposite the Headmaster, he felt a slight tug on his sleeve and saw the end of the rope beside his hand disappear. "I confirmed yesterday evening that Portkeys can in fact bring people out from this Chamber, at least if made by myself. As Headmaster, I am able to authorize Portkeys to function in spite of the castle's wards, and so we shall be returning to Miss Warren's post-mortem residence directly. Is everyone ready, nothing left behind? Well then, **Portus**!"

Travel by Portkey was like a somewhat less injurious version of the effect that had first brought Iruka to Britain. Thankfully, the short trip also meant that the dizzying sensation was quite brief before all attached landed in the restroom as promised. He heard Harry stumble beside him, and quickly stuck an arm out for his student to grab and steady himself, disguising the act as a stumble of his own.

"Well then," Albus announced, "thank you all for coming today. I trust our esteemed guests are satisfied that our recent troubles have been fully resolved?" Both Malfoy and Umbridge nodded curtly and clearly reluctantly. "Excellent! In that case, I believe we may adjourn, as we could all likely stand to bathe thoroughly at our soonest convenience." He conjured a set of simple privacy screens. "Those who brought or can access a change of clothing and wish to change immediately, these should serve."

Undersecretary Umbridge, Bill Weasley, and Professor Kettleburn left to clean up and return to work, while Madam Bones, the Unspeakable, and Lucius Malfoy headed for the booths. The last of those three called out "Dobby!" as he did entered his booth, and thoroughly confirmed his guilt to those who knew about the warnings Harry had received. The house-elf that answered the call was one of the most pitiful creatures Iruka had ever seen: A painfully thin body was dressed in a tattered and stained pillowcase, which hid neither the bandages nor the numerous scars and partially-healed burns and bruises of varying ages. Seeing evidence of how badly the poor elf was abused made the chuunin wish even harder to 'volunteer' its master as a test subject for Orochimaru.

A few moments later Albus excused himself from the room, returning minutes later with a now-visible Harry, who made a show of hesitancy at entering a girls' toilet. "Iruka, I believe your student would like to speak to you regarding your most recent Sealing class."

Iruka nodded and greeted Harry, and the two began discussing fuuinjutsu theory, with Filius and Albus soon joining in. Even Moody was visibly listening in, though whether out of interest or paranoia was difficult to tell.

The first to exit their changing area was the Unspeakable, dressed in robes identical to those they were wearing before except in the lack of unidentifiable grime. Madam Bones had brought her outer robes into the booth with her, and emerged wearing them. Finally came Lucius Malfoy, much cleaner than he had been but slightly unkempt, his right shoe far more polished than his left with Dobby fearfully trailing after while attempting to fix this issue. He strode imperiously out the door without even acknowledging the room's other occupants.

The moment the blond wizard was through the door, Harry excused himself and departed as well. Given the familiar look in his student's eye, Iruka also made his excuses and followed after at a discreet distance. He watched as Harry hailed Malfoy, and presented him with the diary, which the man promptly tossed aside to be caught by his elf. Dobby perked up suddenly, and allowed the diary to fall open and reveal a flattened sock hidden between its pages.

Malfoy turned to storm away once more, barking at Dobby to follow, and found to his dismay that he now owned one less house-elf. Iruka was ready to move forward and intervene when Lucius lunged towards Harry as if to throttle him, only to see his third blonde tosspot of the year tumbling through the air. This one, it seemed, had been launched back by a protective elf with the snap of its fingers. When the 'former' Death Eater rose, enraged, he apparently remembered that magic existed and pulled a wand free from his cane.

 _Now_ , Iruka intervened. A quick Substitution with a suit of armor behind Malfoy placed the chuunin in a position to dart forward and grab the man's wand hand, forcing his aim to remain towards the ground. "Now now, Mr. Malfoy," he said quietly in a dangerously bright tone, letting his sakki flow out, "you wouldn't be about to attack one of my students, would you? After all, I already promised to protect them, and I _never_ go back on my word, and wouldn't it be _such_ a shame if I had to do something... unfortunate... to you?"

Between the angry house-elf at the top of the stairs, finger still leveled at him, and the strangely frightening scholar gripping his wand hand with surprising strength, Lucius looked like he might need another set of clean robes already. "Forgive my... _ill-considered_ actions," he ground out, "I am afraid that the _disappointment_ regarding the Chamber's contents left me in a poor mood. Why don't you see to your _student_ ," he sneered the word like a vile insult, "while I return home to take a much-needed bath." With a nod and a woodenly beatific smile, Iruka released the aristocratic bully and watched him unblinkingly until he had passed out of sight as he only-barely-not-rushed from the castle.

Once he was able to relax, the chuunin turned a gimlet eye on his student. "That's _two_ Naruto plans in three days, Harry. Do you think you could cut back a bit, for the sake of my nerves if nothing else?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, but once I came up with the idea of Umbridge going instead of Fudge, there was no way I could resist the pun.
> 
> This chapter fought me. A lot. I repeatedly revised both large and small elements of it, trying to get the characters' behavior to fit both their established personalities and the story. I'd like to hope that the result all flows and makes sense. Also, it didn't exactly give me any good break points until the end there, which resulted in this much longer chapter than normal.
> 
> Jake Fairfield is an OC filling a minor role and, unusually, not really based on anybody. His accent is from an English-speaking country outside of the UK. If pressed, I'll say he's Canadian, because the only people that hate Canadians are a-holes and fans of certain American NHL teams. And, apparently, Severus Snape if he thinks they're horning in on his source of rare and exotic potion ingredients, though frankly he fits the first category already.
> 
> A fauld is a portion of plate armor, specifically the front portion of the 'skirt' of plates extending down from the breastplate. I just felt like giving this Unspeakable a really obscure term as a codename, dunno why.
> 
> "Why didn't they bring a reporter, or at least a photographer, with them?" I hear you asking. Simply put, Lucius and the Batrachian One were hedging their bets. Both hoped that they'd find something down there that they could use to discredit Dumbledore, but Lucius especially was concerned about exactly what might be revealed regarding his involvement. In essence, if they brought a journalist of any type down with them, they wouldn't have as much control over what information got out and how. On top of that, both of them are proud Slytherins, and had to wonder if the contents of the Chamber might paint their founder in an undesirable light - there wouldn't really be much coming back from discovering a collection of the tenth century's equivalent of an Icha Icha collection...
> 
> A response to guest reviewer "Arsenal" on ffnet: I acknowledge my pacing issues, it's something I constantly struggle with. As far as the lack of expansive worldbuilding, I'm sorry but this isn't that type of fic. I'm aiming for more of a "for want of a nail" type of story, where a single divergent element (in this case, Iruka's presence) alters the course of events, as much a thought experiment as anything else. Because that's the central premise, I'm keeping everything else as close to canon as possible unless Iruka's presence would have affected it (in which case, I show those effects). As much fun as it would be to flesh out other aspects of magic or the setting in general, it would add further divergent elements and cause the story to lose focus, something that greatly irritates me when other writers do it. If you prefer stories that expand upon the setting and mythos, that's your preference, but my preference (and thus my writing) is on "what if"-type stories, where one fundamental change cascades throughout the story. If the "what if" is "what if magic worked differently?" then these tastes would probably overlap in such a tale, but if it's something different like "what if Harry reacted differently to X" then throwing in a complex expanded system of magic that's inconsistent with the canon takes focus away from the story's main premise in a way I find detrimental (for example, "Dodging Prison and Stealing Witches: Revenge is Best Served Raw"). It's one thing to expand the setting in necessary ways (creating a more complete Goblin culture in "Harry Crow", for example) but if the added worldbuilding isn't directly relevant to the plot it comes across as the writer being distracted by this other shiny idea they had. I have plenty of shiny ideas, but they won't end up in this fic without good reason.


	13. Chapter 13

Time marched on, and life at Hogwarts soon returned to the closest approximation to normal that was possible in such an environment. The Weasley family had, after some debate, chosen to allow their children to remain at Hogwarts rather than bring them home for a while in the wake of the diary. Their reasoning was largely that pulling them out of school would probably feed the castle's everpresent rumor mill, after which there was no telling what stories would take root regarding what had happened. Albus had, of course, announced to the student body that the Chamber had been found and Slytherin's monster slain in the course of rescuing a kidnapped student. It hadn't taken long for the children to figure out that Filius and Iruka had been involved, though there was still debate over whether Ginny or Harry (or possibly both) had been taken, as their absences had been noted.

Iruka had asked the Headmaster about his theories regarding the diary, but the response he got was less than informative. "There are several possibilities," the wizened wizard stated, "none of them pleasant. Amelia asked the same question several days ago, and I shall give you the same answer I gave to her: Unless and until more information presents itself to clarify the situation, I am not comfortable sharing what amounts to little more than vague hypotheses."

On the student front, given the apparent total lack of trauma counselors in Wizarding Britain, Iruka stepped in to give Ginny someone to talk to. As with Harry, Neville, and Hermione, he reached out to her and did his best to help her recover emotionally from her ordeal. With her parents' permission, he also began teaching her as he had the others, recognizing just how much the ability able to defend her own mind would help to repair her damaged self-respect. Knowing that most members of the Weasley family weren't especially good at keeping secrets, he got Albus, Xeno, and Pandora to vouch for the skills he'd be teaching without sharing too many details. They learned the broad strokes, that Iruka's lessons would help Ginny better protect herself physically and mentally, but accepted that the exact nature of the techniques taught were confidential. It wasn't entirely fair to trade on their still-fresh gratitude to help convince them, but fairness was for samurai, not shinobi.

In the group lessons, the Weasley daughter didn't remain an outsider for long: Her somewhat-lapsed friendship with Luna was quickly rekindled, and the four existing members of S.E.N. soon made it their mission to bring out the strong, vivacious girl their quirky blond friend had described. Ginny was obviously significantly behind the others, but that only seemed to light a spark of determination in her to catch up, and she proved herself an enthusiastic student with a natural aptitude for taijutsu that would likely see her surpassing some of her senpai in less than a year.

Ginny Weasley wasn't the only new face at S.E.N. meetings, either. Filius attended as long and as often as he could, even bringing along supplies to do some of his marking and lesson prep while he watched. After the second time, Iruka asked the Room to provide him with a suitable workspace so that he wouldn't be awkwardly trying to work in the vestibule. More than simply spectating, the Charms professor also eagerly sparred with Iruka, something Albus rarely had time to do, and contributed lessons on magical combat to complement those in taijutsu and bukijutsu. Even Iruka took part in this portion, having little more knowledge of magic than his students.

Amelia Bones had also observed an S.E.N. meeting alongside Albus shortly after the Chamber incident. She had been impressed by Iruka's demonstrations of ninjutsu, genjutsu, and shurikenjutsu; the taijutsu portion simply left her bemoaning the fact that "Muggle fighting" had been cut from the official Auror training programme by Minister Fudge. Her expression had turned sour when she saw just how much combat-oriented material was included in the children's' lessons.

"I felt similarly when Iruka first shifted the focus of his teachings at the beginning of this year," Albus had commented to her, "but he made a rather compelling argument as to why it was necessary. We know that Lord Voldemort is not nearly as dead as we might wish, and that he continues to make attempts on Mister Potter's life. To so utterly fail in killing a helpless babe is a stain he will feel compelled to expunge, and so Harry will remain a target until one or the other is permanently dead. Thus, it is essentially guaranteed that danger will continue to find the lad, and looking at this group I find it impossible to conceive of the other children willingly abandoning him to face that danger on his own. I wish more deeply than words can express that I could keep all of them away from such things, but alas it has already been proven that I cannot. With that fact in mind, I find that I cannot bring myself to object to them learning how to better protect themselves."

"I don't like it," Madam Bones had replied, "but neither can I fault the logic behind it. We'll just have to take it as inspiration to do our best to stop these problems continuing to fall on schoolchildren to resolve."

The only answer she received was a resolute nod.

 **Λ**  
**-――――===ͽ <  O  > ͼ===――――-**  
**V**

The other event of note following after the events of the Chamber was Lucius Malfoy's removal from the Hogwarts Board of Governors. He had apparently overplayed his hand in trying to push Albus out of the Headmaster position, even going so far as to make thinly-veiled threats against the families of those Board members not aligned with him. It was, as usual, nothing that could be proven or prosecuted, but it was clearly the final straw after numerous other offenses. Even Malfoy's allies on the Board distanced themselves from him, angry over the humiliation of having attempted to suspend the Headmaster for failing to resolve a problem immediately after it _had_ been resolved.

This didn't mean that the 'former' Death Eater and his cronies no longer held any sway, but at least their hold had been loosened somewhat.

 **Λ**  
**-――――===ͽ <  O  > ͼ===――――-**  
**V**

Fortunately, the school year managed to finish without any other 'excitement', and the students returned home for the summer. Iruka took Harry to the Grangers' via Side-Along Apparition, to keep up the charade and hide his true residence from those who wished him ill. They did of course make a side-trip on the way, much to the displeasure of Harry's stomach, to quickly scan for any sort of tracking, eavesdropping, or locator spells. Filius had immediately understood the need when Iruka asked about learning the detection charms. There were no unwanted magics present, and the whole thing may have felt a bit over-the-top, but there were really only two kinds of shinobi - those that took reasonable precautions, and those that didn't live to make chuunin.

Unfortunately, the children hadn't even been home a week when Iruka made an unplanned trip back to Crawley, carrying that morning's Daily Prophet. His reason was on the front page, in an article whose headline screamed: _LYING LOCKHART AND THE STOLEN STORIES!_

> Hogwarts' Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award Gilderoy Lockhart has a terrible secret, writes Daily Prophet investigative correspondent Rita Skeeter. Most of our readers are at least aware of the many heroic exploits recounted in his numerous books. What they are not aware of, however, is that all of these deeds have one thing in common:
> 
> None of them were carried out by Gilderoy Lockhart!
> 
> Yes, dear reader, you read that correctly! After receiving a tip from a reliable source, this reporter began digging into the background of the famed author, reading through his published works in detail and tracking down some of the people involved in the events described therein, and investigating the man himself. The pattern that emerged was as shocking as it was despicable: In nearly every case of Lockhart's supposed defeat of a Dark creature, evidence surfaced during the investigation indicating that another person, different in each case, had been the true hero (For a full listing of Lockhart's claimed deeds, turn to page 4). Many of these individuals had significant accomplishments both before and after the events in the relevant book, making it all the more plausible that they could have accomplished such deeds.
> 
> If they are the true heroes, then how can it be that none have raised objections to another wizard claiming credit for their accomplishments? None of them, it would seem, remember the events involved, and neither do most of those closest to them or to the deeds in question. Discovering the truth required extensive research and investigation, but has now been revealed: Each of these heroes has been subjected to Memory Charms!
> 
> Detailed examinations by experts in mental magics have found signs of significant memory modification in every witch and wizard that may be the real hero behind one of Gilderoy Lockhart's books. In fact, such signs were present in every witness who attested to Lockhart being the defeater of their respective Dark creature (among those consenting to examination, at least), indicating that their memories had been altered.
> 
> With answers as to who, what, where, when, and how, all that remained was to ask, "Why?" After speaking to a number of former schoolmates of the current Defense Professor, the answer became clear: Since at least the day he first set foot in Hogwarts as an incoming student, Gilderoy Lockhart has desired one thing above all else - fame. Those who knew him as a student can share many tales of his often outrageous attempts to garner praise and attention to himself (For a history of Gilderoy Lockhart's student years, turn to page 3).
> 
> We can only hope that a full investigation by the authorities will confirm the truth, and that this memory-stealing glory hound will not be allowed to continue among the vulnerable young students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (For questions about Gilderoy Lockhart's time as Professor of DADA, turn to page 2).
> 
> For details on the investigation that revealed Gilderoy Lockhart's deception, turn to page 5.

On its own, the article would have been worth discussing but not a matter of any urgency. What had Iruka truly worried was a piece on the paper's second page:

> IS GILDEROY LOCKHART TRYING TO CORRPT THE BOY-WHO-LIVED?
> 
> By Rita Skeeter
> 
> Gilderoy Lockhart was hired by Albus Dumbledore as the latest Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry after the sudden death of his predecessor, Professor Quirinus Quirrell, under suspicious and mysterious circumstances. Before term had even begun, he was already working to sink his claws into Harry Potter, one of the few wizards who could compete with him in terms of fame, and the only such wizard still young and impressionable. During a publicity event in Diagon Alley last August, he sought out and forcibly grabbed the Boy-Who-Lived, barely twelve years old, and held him in place for a photo the poor child clearly did not want.
> 
> According to students subjected to his classes, Professor Lockhart started the year with a quiz to test his pupils' knowledge. Ordinarily this would be quite reasonable, as a way for a new teacher to tailor their lessons to what the students already know; ordinarily, the quiz would be about topics beyond said teacher. In what way does knowing Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite colour enable the children to fend off Dark creatures or wizards?
> 
> In his very first lesson, the 'Professor' unleashed a swarm of Cornish Pixies upon a classroom full of unsuspecting Second-Years. After attempting to demonstrate a spell that experts consulted by this reporter insist was either his own creation or simply imaginary, he promptly lost his wand to the Pixies and fled the room in terror, abandoning his students, one of whom ended up hanging from a chandelier. Following that disaster, all further classes simply took the form of dramatic retellings and reenactments of excerpts from Lockhart's books, with students standing in for the creatures involved.
> 
> "It was fun, at first," said one student who asked not to be identified (presumably for fear of being made to forget everything), "but none of the stories ever really taught us much of anything. I heard a couple of Fifth-years worrying if they were going to be able to pass their Defense O.W.L.s."
> 
> More sinister than mere incompetent teaching, however, was the man's interest in young second-year student Harry Potter. Multiple reliable sources have confirmed that, starting quite early in the term, the two famous wizards held numerous private meetings, described as 'tutoring sessions'. Given what we now know of Gilderoy Lockhart's actual capabilities and proclivities, questions must be asked about what exactly took place at these 'sessions': Was Lockhart truly teaching anything, and if so, what? What were his real motives? Was he merely getting close to the Boy-Who-Lived to further his own fame, or corrupting the young Potter into an apprentice at his twisted lifestyle? Perhaps he noted the fact that several respected experts in magical theory have posited that it was not Harry Potter, but Lily and/or James Potter who effected the defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and thought the poor boy might already be taking his first steps toward stealing the accomplishments of others?

The article continued on, describing more examples of Lockhart's incompetence while hinting that he may have sought or even carried out inappropriate relationships with students, possibly covering them up with Memory Charms. It was a skillful work of character assassination and scandalmongering, the true forté of Rita Skeeter, but with a surprising amount of truth for the gossip journalist who usually didn't allow mere facts to get in the way of a good story (well, a salacious one at least). What worried Iruka was the fact that she'd brought Harry's tutoring sessions into things, which was why he was making haste to the Grangers' front door.

The door opened to reveal a slightly surprised Monica Granger. "Is everything all right, Professor?" she asked.

"There's a bit of an issue. Nothing dangerous," he reassured her, "but still something that could make trouble for Harry."

"Well then, I guess we should go rescue the lad from his summer homework for a while," Mrs. Granger replied with a welcoming smile as she beckoned Iruka into the house. "Is this something to do with today's Prophet?"

"You've read it?" She nodded. "Then you might as well join in. More minds on the problem wouldn't hurt."

"Makes sense. Do you want me to see if Wendell can get here too?" Monica asked. "He's at the surgery until one, then we'll be switching places for the afternoon."

"I don't think that'll be necessary," Iruka replied, "though if our response doesn't end up being too urgent it might be best to double-check our thoughts with him when he gets home."

Soon the two adults and two children were gathered around the kitchen table, with two copies of that day's Prophet laid out between them. "I think we can all agree that Lockhart's career at Hogwarts is finished," the chuunin began to a round of agreeing nods. "Unfortunately, they've dragged Harry's name into things as well. What we need to figure out is whether Harry should respond in some way, and if so, how."

Harry scowled in response. "Can't we just ignore it?" he asked. "Let everybody focus on Lockhart and forget about me for a while?"

"You're the one that took lessons in public relations," Hermione answered him. "Even if Professor Lockhart was a fraud at Defense, he clearly knows a lot about publicity, and since he's sort of the one to get you into this, it's only fair he help get you back out as well."

The bespectacled boy's scowl turned to a thoughtful frown. "He'd probably call this an attack, criticism I mean, and he said there are a few ways to deal with criticism: You can't just defend yourself, he said, since that makes you look defensive and just makes the attacker more believable. First option is to ignore it, but that only works if it's low-key, and you don't want to tell more people about it by responding to it. If you ignore a really public criticism, it turns it into- er, it tells people that, well, they can come up with their own explanations and stuff. Anyway, second response is to attack, make the criticism unbelievable to people by criticizing the person criticizing you, but that's dangerous since it can make you look mean and angry, so you have to be really careful how you use it and how often. Third was to apologize for whatever they say you did wrong, which makes you look humble and noble but also means you're basically admitting they were right, so it's not, well, you don't want to do it too often. Fourth is to laugh it off, make like the criticism is silly and ridiculous, so hopefully people will treat it that way and not listen to that particular thing in the future. He really liked using that one, since it let him show off his smile, plus he figured if he laughed at the same critic enough times, people would stop believing that person at all so they wouldn't be able to attack him any more. He did say that it can make people feel like you're laughing off their concerns, rather than the criticism, so that's the risk there. Fifth is to turn it around somehow, make something negative into something positive, or show people why the bad thing is actually good. Professor Lockhart said it's hard to do, and only really works sometimes, for some things, and it can make people feel like you're treating them like idiots if you do it wrong, especially if your explanation is stupid, but if you pull it off it makes you look better than you did before the criticism." Even after close to two years, Harry still shrunk back after such a long speech, still uncomfortable as the center of attention.

"Well," said Hermione, "the first option is out entirely, since this is already in the Prophet."

"The second seems like a particularly bad idea given the nature of the article," added her mother, "as does the fourth, especially since it's true that you _have_ been taking private lessons from him."

"Skeeter isn't really saying you did anything wrong, per se," Iruka contributed, "so apologizing would probably be a bad idea too. That just leaves finding a way to explain to people why this was actually something good..."

 **Λ**  
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**V**

It had taken the group nearly an hour to hammer out the broad outline of a planned response, and another hour and a half to compose and refine said response. After consulting Wendell Granger upon his return home and incorporating a minor tweak he suggested, Iruka and Harry traveled to the Rook to consult the Lovegoods. Having the input of two adult magicals, one of whom was himself a publisher, Iruka returned Harry to the Grangers before making one final visit.

"I see," said Albus. "Under most circumstances, I would advise most strenuously against Harry making any kind of public statement, but having read both this missive and the article to which it responds, I do believe you may have a workable plan. As the public's attention is _already_ on Harry to at least some degree, and this is merely a response, it should be safe enough. It also pleases me to know that Gilderoy at least managed to teach _something_ during his time here." This last bit was said with an uncharacteristic bit of acidity.

Iruka let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. One hurdle passed. "With that in mind, can you think of any further refinements before we send this to the Prophet?"

The Headmaster shook his head. "I feel it is quite adequate, and those changes that I would make are more of style than of substance. Such a thing might possibly leave the final result more polished, but in this case it would perhaps be better to let young Harry's voice rather than mine be the one people hear."

 **Λ**  
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**V**

> HARRY POTTER, IN HIS OWN WORDS
> 
> The following is, in its entirety, a letter sent to the Daily Prophet by none other than the Boy-Who-Lived himself, in response to yesterday's article regarding Gilderoy Lockhart's suspicious activities at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry:
> 
> _To the Daily Prophet, and its readers:_
> 
> _I write this in response to yesterday's article by Rita Skeeter, which questioned the nature of my private tutoring sessions with Professor Gilderoy Lockhart. First and foremost, I wish to thank Ms. Skeeter for promoting the view I've held since I first learned the true story of my parents deaths: It was one or both of my parents who somehow defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and they were the true heroes of that night, not me._
> 
> _Whenever I hear someone refer to me as the 'Boy-Who-Lived' I feel not pride, but sorrow, as I am once again reminded of the night I was robbed of any chance to truly know my parents._
> 
> _Regarding my lessons with Professor Lockhart, shortly after the start of school he offered to advise me on the topic of public relations. As I was raised in the Muggle world, totally ignorant of magic, it came as quite a shock when on my eleventh birthday I found myself mobbed during my first visit to the Leaky Cauldron. Not only was there a hidden world of magic all around, but its people considered me some kind of celebrity - it was a lot to take in for a kid like me, and even now I'm still learning about my place in this world._
> 
> _As much as I wish I could be just 'Harry', I realize that I'll probably not be able to escape the public eye any time soon. That was why I accepted Professor Lockhart's offer, since I've seen plenty of Muggle celebrities go from famous to infamous almost instantly. I needed to learn how to respond to questions about my character, such as yesterday's article, how to avoid making costly mistakes out of ignorance, and how to cope with the pressure of being watched and whispered about everywhere I go._
> 
> _As far as the allegations against Professor Lockhart, I would prefer not to comment. Such investigations and judgments should be left to those older and wiser than myself._
> 
> _I'm just an ordinary twelve-year-old wizard. I enjoy spending time with my friends and playing Quidditch. If I could, I'd gladly trade every bit of fame and affection I've gotten from being the 'Boy-Who-Lived' in exchange for having my family back. I know that can never happen, but I'd be content with just being able to live my life like any other witch and wizard - go to school, have fun with friends, and hopefully some day start a family of my own. If you want to celebrate anything about that Halloween night, celebrate the peace Wizarding Britain gained and remember those brave witches and wizards, my parents included, who sacrificed so much so that we could all have a brighter future._
> 
> _Thank you for your indulgence._
> 
> _Sincerely,_
> 
> _Harry James Potter_
> 
> We at the Daily Prophet thank young Mr. Potter for his comments, and offer our best wishes to the young wizard going forward.

In his chambers at Hogwarts, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart set his copy of that day's Prophet aside with a proud, if slightly pained smile. "Well done, Harry my lad," he said softly to the empty rooms he suspected he would not occupy for much longer, "well done indeed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another monster of a chapter. I was originally going to just describe/summarize the articles in the Prophet, but once again had to remind myself: "Show, don't tell." That meant letting Rita loose, and she had a lot to say. Writing those articles was a challenge, too; I knew the general points I wanted to hit, but actually arranging them in a sensible order was tough. I hope I managed to pull off Wizarding Britain's favorite muckraker.
> 
> So, Ginny is joining S.E.N. - I'd planned on that for a while, originally intending to have S.E.N. include the full Ministry Six, possibly with Gred and Forge added in, but just couldn't find a way to make it happen. When planning the Chamber fight, I'd originally written it with Ron there, and thought about having the Twins and/or Percy along as well, but as the story worked out none of them got involved.
> 
> As far as how Rita came to be investigating Lockhart, well, I know who pointed her in that direction and why. Hopefully it'll become clearer to the reader in chapters to come.


End file.
